A Little Help Is All You Need
by caggyxx12
Summary: When Harry is given responsibility of Dudley's child, he soon grows to love it as his own. But when he ends up taking him to Hogwarts, how will he cope with a child and the threat of Voldemort. And what are these strange feelings for Malfoy. Set after GoF. Slash Harry/Draco rating may go up in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey this is my second fanfic and first HP one i hope you enjoy it, this plot has been bouncing around my brain for a while now :D Btw this isn't beta'd so if there's mistakes and such I apologize, grammar, punctation ect. are not my forte**

**Chapter One**

Harry was on his bed staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't like he had anything else to do, the Dursleys had left to go out for dinner and Vernon had locked every room except his, the bathroom and the kitchen. So unless he wanted to eat or shower out of boredom, he had nothing to do.

Just as harry was halfway through humming a song he'd heard on Vernon's radio, the doorbell rung, once, twice, then repeatedly for the next ten seconds. Harry, at first wary, was now just sick of the noise and stormed down the steps to confront the _extremely _impatient person on the other side of the door. He reached the door and ripped it open with an irritated. "WHAT?"

There was nobody there. "For Merlin's sake" Harry huffed about to close the door shut again when a wailing cry stopped him and his head snapped down. There on his doorstep was a baby in a basket a letter tucked into its blankets.

"Huh, déjà vu." Slightly disconcerted by the situation, but not one to leave a crying child, he picked up the basket and brought it inside.

Harry sat staring at the letter in shock, while absentmindedly rocking the basket with his free hand. Dudley had sex, with a girl. A girl not only let Dudley kiss her but they actually had sex. That fat piece of shit, well Harry thought he'd heard everything but apparently not.

So this baby was Dudley's and some girl he'd had sex with, gotten pregnant then she'd decide she couldn't cope and dumped the kid on Dudley. Oh well it wasn't his problem, he'd just look after baby..., Harry glanced at the letter, Ethan until the others came back. At least it would distract him from his thought about Cedric and Voldemort. He picked up the baby and inspected it. Ethan groggily awoke from his snooze and stared fearfully, bright blue eyes filling with tears. Harry seeing what was about to happen rocked him back and forth while making cooing sounds and stroking the matt of soft brown hair. This baby was adorable.

* * *

Harry had been pacing up and down the hallway for the past five minutes trying to get Ethan to quiet down. After getting the baby to trust him enough to look after him, harry proceeded to cut and mash fruit to feed him and helped him drink a cup of juice. After that harry had gone up to Dudley's room and taken some old toys for Ethan to play with. He had played peacefully for about an hour before he tripped while unsteadily toddling over to a bouncy ball, the child landed on his front and burst into tears, which had caused the hall pacing.

Ethan's wails had finally died down to cute sniffles when the door banged and Uncle Vernon marched in.

"BOY!" he yelled even though harry was in the same room, this set the child off again.

"Seriously?" Harry moaned while shushing Ethan. Vernon had stopped dad just staring at the baby, his mouth wide open and moving but no sound coming out. Petunia, curious about the noise and why her husband had stopped, slipped past, when her eyes landed on the child in Harry's arms she shrieked, causing Ethan's cries to become louder.

"WHAT IS THAT?" She screeched pointing an accusing finger at the baby.

"Obviously it's a baby" Harry answered as if he was talking to a small child who didn't understand.

"Watch your mouth boy" Vernon growled seemingly gotten hold of himself.

"Whatever" Harry sighed while walking into the kitchen, he placed Ethan into the basket and held it under his left arm, picking up the letter in his right hand. He re-entered the hallway and walked up to Dudley, handing him the letter and petunia the basket Harry turned to go upstairs.

"You'll want to read that, all of you. I'll just go get my old cot from the attic shall I?" With that he raced upstairs to the sound of Vernon's indignant yells, Petunia's shrieks, Dudley's questions and baby Ethan screaming louder than them all.

* * *

Half an hour later, Harry sat on his bed staring at the cot he'd just assembled. He wasn't really sure what would happen to little Ethan. Dudley could barely look after himself never mind a one year old, and he doubted his aunt and uncle would take the child in with open arms, considering how much they complained throughout his childhood about how he was such a burden, They definitely wouldn't appreciate this little repeat of history. Harry figured it would be up to him to make sure the child wasn't just abandoned in some alley or forest somewhere (Which knowing his Uncle and Cousin as he did, he knows they'd consider.) Harry went into the linen closet for some covers and blankets to put inside the cot, he then placed in his old dragon teddy. He was reluctant to part with it because Dumbledore said that it was the only thing they had been able to salvage from his nursery that night and send with him. It had been a reminder throughout the neglect and abuse that someone out there loved him. But he was fifteen in a month and the baby needed it more, at least until everything was sorted. The kid would be in his room anyway because he wouldn't leave a goldfish in Dudley's room for fear of its death, let alone a human child.

Once the cot was sorted and his room had been baby proofed, he ventured back downstairs and into the living room where his 'family' were. For once they were all silent, Petunia and Vernon alternating between staring incredulously at Dudley and glancing at the basket atop the coffee table as if it would explode any minute. Dudley himself seemed to be in a state of shock, his gaze fixed only on the baby, the offending letter on the floor next to him. Harry stood in the doorway watching the scene until Ethan, who'd gone to sleep, woke up and sat up looking around at the strange place in fear and suspicious until he spotted harry, who was somewhat familiar. The baby clambered out of the basket and went to climb off the table.

Harry, suspecting what was about to happen, but seeing no one move to prevent it, quickly rushed forward and scooped Ethan up before he toppled over the edge.

"For Merlin's sake, he's only been in this house for about three hours and he' almost been injured"

This statement seemed to knock everyone out of their collective trance and they turned towards the black-haired wizard, Vernon not even reprimanding him on his use of 'Merlin'.

"Well if you're so capable, you look after it" Dudley whined "I don't want to be a dad, I don't even remember this chick, Rose or something I dunno" Harry bounced Ethan while thinking, suddenly he remembered.

"Oh! I know who it was. Judging from Ethan's age it must have been that girl you dated for about three weeks when you were fourteen. She came round quite a few times. Rose Gardener, she always wore like ten bracelets on each arm" By now Ethan had grabbed Harry's fingers and proceeded to chew on them.

"Oh I remember her" His cousin replied, seeming irritated "She just upped and left not a word to anyone, stupid cow"

"I guess this was why" Harry mused, until a sharp bite from the child scarce teeth snapped him out of it. "Right, Aunt Petunia do you still have Dudley's old pram?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Yes it's in the shed, bu-"

"Great! I'll be back in a minute" He interrupted, then handing her the baby, turned and walked out of the room.

Ten minutes later Harry walked back in with a now clean pram. Petunia was sat awkwardly holding Ethan, looking torn between letting him wander around her pristine sitting room (Which Harry cleaned) or keeping hold and having the child cry. Seeing the infant squirm Harry plucked him from his Aunt's arms and buckled him into the pram.

"Alright I'm going to the shop for baby supplies, I'll need about twenty quid" Harry stated waiting for his uncle to fish out his wallet. Unfortunately the man was stubborn.

"You actually think I'm going to hand over twenty pounds? Well you've got another thing coming boy!" His uncle spluttered Harry rolled his eyes.

"Dudley got £40 trainers last week. All I'm asking is £20 to sustain a life" Harry said coldly. He stared at Vernon, his emerald eyes flashing in anger. Vernon, spooked by the magic he see, quickly shoved the note into the teen's hand and slammed the door behind the duo.

Harry blew out a breath of relief and pushed the money into his jean pocket.

"Alright kid, I'm not sure how long you'll be here for, but I'll get as much as I can with this twenty" Harry said addressing the child in front of him "And maybe after we've dropped the shopping off, I'll take you to the park, okay?" He said as if the child would answer him. To be honest he didn't know if Ethan could talk or not, if he could he hadn't said anything yet, Harry had seen that he'd only recently learnt to walk judging by the unsteadiness of his steps.

Harry sung softly to his little companion as they walked into town, chuckling occasionally at his antics. When the reached the nearest supermarket Harry fished in his pocket for the list he'd made in the kitchen and the twenty pounds. He looked down at the brown hair, ruffled it then strolled into the shop completely ignoring the looks he got. He was used to them anyway.

* * *

Two hours later and having run out of money, with his last pound Harry bought a lolly for himself and a packet of Milky Buttons for Ethan. He was sat on a bench, the pram loaded with bags and it's previous occupant perched on his lap happily being fed his chocolate. He'd had to ask around a lot when they were shopping and received disapproving looks and comments from people thinking he was an inexperienced teen father. Harry had just ignored them knowing his idiot cousin owed him. Once the baby had finished the packet and harry had popped a button into his own mouth, he stood up and propping the child on his hip pushed the pram forwards with his free hand, slowly making his way back to the house.

**A/N:Thanks for reading hope you liked it, i'm really into this story so I'll probably post whether anyone reads or not but if you did like it please review would be greatly appreciated, flamers should just go away though because i only accept constructive criticism! Thanks xx**  
**-Caggyxx**


	2. Chapter 2

******Disclaimer: I forgot last chapter but of course i don't own Harry Potter or any other characters or settings (Except Ethan he's mine) If i did own it Ginny would have died in the chamber harry and Draco would have run off and joined Voldemort. ;) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

Harry was in the kitchen feeding Ethan his tea, he'd bought enough baby meals to last him around a week and this was lasagna. The teen had been looking after Ethan for the past four days now and he was knackered, he hadn't expected a baby to be this much work, and he was barely getting help from the Dursleys. Dudley, considering Ethan was actually his son, would sometimes play with or watch him while harry showered or slept, which was considerate for him. But his Aunt and Uncle seemed like they didn't even want to acknowledge the infant's existence. Each time harry went to Petunia to ask for advice or help with the baby, he'd be brushed off and ignored. The only thing Vernon would help with was, extremely reluctantly, money. Each time harry asked for a couple of quid or something, his uncle slowly handed it over like he was in physical pain.

If harry was going to look after this baby for the rest of the summer he needed more 'help' than what his relatives were currently giving him. Harry wiped Ethan down and picked him up, the child was carried upstairs and placed into his cot. Ethan crawled over to the dragon toy and started chewing on it. Harry glanced fondly at the baby as he sat down at his desk. He searched around in a draw before finally pulling out a piece of paper and pen (His quills and parchment were currently inaccessible courtesy of the Dursleys).

_Dear Mrs. Weasley,_

_Hey it's harry, I'm okay in case you're wondering, but my wellbeing isn't what I wrote to you for. I need your help. Don't worry I'm not in trouble but I am a bit lost. Due to certain circumstances... I am now looking after a baby and have been for the last four days. The thing is, I have no idea what I'm doing. If you could give me some guidance and help it would be greatly appreciated. It's a boy by the way, his name is Ethan and he turned one in February._

_Please reply to this letter. I'm stressing out!_

_Thanks so much_

_Love Harry_

_P.S- Ron and Hermione haven't been replying to my letters so tell them I said hi._

Harry rolled the letter up and put an elastic band around it. He walked over to Hedwig's cage, where his faithful bird was sleeping peacefully. She snapped her eyes open as he unhooked the cage door.

"Hey girl, sorry I've been neglecting you" Harry cooed stroking her chest "I've just been busy, but I have a letter for you to deliver" Harry presented the scroll to Hedwig, who was now perched on his windowsill, he held it in his palm, waiting for his owl to take it. "To Mrs. Weasley, okay girl" Hedwig hooted and snatched up the letter, circled the room the swooped through the open window, nipping Harry's ear as she exited the house. Harry laughed rubbing the red skin before turning to Ethan's cot. The blue-eyed baby was sound asleep. Harry sighed in relief, then collapsed onto his own bed, asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

At around four in the morning, harry was jolted awake by the sound of Ethan's cries. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, harry rose from his bed and stumbled over to the cot.

"What? Why are you crying?" He moaned, picking the child up, he placed him on his shoulder and started pacing the room, still only half awake. Mid-stride harry got a whiff of something that woke him right up "Merlin Ethan, is that you? Guess I know why you were crying"

Harry set Ethan on the ground and unfolded the changing mat he bought out on his bed "Right let's gut this over with" He lay Ethan on his back, opened his baby-grow and undid the nappy underneath.

"Eww" Harry cleaned up the baby and changed him into a fresh nappy; after re-buttoning the baby-grow harry lay Ethan down in his cot. "Alright Ethan, now that I've had to wipe your bum, will you go to sleep for me?" Instead of closing his eyes, like Harry wanted, Ethan used the bars to pull himself to his feet and stared at Harry "Yeah it was worth a shot" the tired teen chuckled. Ethan stuck his small arms into the air and made grabbing motions; Harry reached back into the cot and lifted the infant out. "How about a story then?" He wondered, stroking the child's hair. Ethan answered by snuggling into Harry's chest "Story it is then".

Harry settled down onto his bed, back leaning against the headboard and Ethan curled up on his chest "Hmm...Story, story...Erm... I don't really kn- Oh! I'll tell you mine" Harry looked down at the child in his arms, said child was pulling on the string of his jumper, he tightened his arms around Ethan and started his story. "Well, there was this boy and he lived with his aunt and uncle, who made him sleep in a cupboard, he was very sad. Until one a huge man called Hagrid came and told the boy that he was a wizard and that he was going to go to a magic school called Hogwarts, which was a big beautiful castle" Harry spoke softly and soon Ethan was yawning and rubbing his eyes, Harry carried on speaking until the child's eyes had closed and he was dreaming about broomsticks, invisible cloaks and dragons.

* * *

**A/N: This is a short chapter hope you enjoy it though! Review please! Thanks xx****  
****-Caggyxx  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys...So I know I haven't updated in like, two months but...-Thinks of legitimate excuse-...I have no reason except from pure laziness so ...Sorry. Review so i know you still love me -bats eyelashes-**

**Disclaimer: Oh how i wish i owned this fantastic franchise, but alas, it belongs to the genius herself J.K Rowling...and all the other lot involved. BUT Ethan and Linda are mine so ha! Enjoy!xx**

Harry sat on the couch, barely able to keep his eyes open. It had been a week since he'd sent the letter to Mrs. Weasley and there was still no reply. The wizard had sort of been expecting it, after all the most he got off anyone in the wizarding world was short pointless letters every now and again. Harry had mostly given up and was working out how to look after the infant one day at a time. The fact that Ethan was being really restless at night wasn't helping, as he was up most nights pacing up and down trying to get the child to sleep. Night that Ethan actually did sleep fully, harry didn't. Nightmares of Cedric and voldemort plagued him, and when those didn't he dreamt of a long dark corridor with a door at the end. To him it was all very eerie and most time he woke terrified, so all together harry had only gotten a couple of hours of sleep in the past week. No wonder he was dead on his feet.

Watching Ethan crawl about on the carpet, dragon toy in his hand, harry decided to use some intuitive. There was bound to be information on looking after young children somewhere, he just had to find it. Picking Ethan up, the teen walked upstairs and entered Dudley's room. His cousin was sprawled across his bed playing on a Game Boy and didn't even look up as the two walked in.

"Dudley" No answer "Dudley" Again harry was ignored, The boy walked over to his cousin and plucked the device out of his hands, finally gaining his attention after calling a third time

"WHAT?" The large boy asked irritation evident.

"Whoa chill out, I just wanted to ask if I could use your computer." Harry said, while kissing Ethan's cheek. The infant was on the verge of crying at Dudley's tone, he tickled Ethan's belly until his sniffles had turned into squeals of laughter. Dudley watched this display, before picking up his game and turning his attention back to the pixel characters.

"No" the blond teen replied firmly. Harry huffed at his cousin.

"Come on Dudley it's really important" Dudley turned back to harry, his irritation had returned double.

"I said no; now get the hell out of my room you freak!" He yelled at Harry, wincing slightly as Ethan flinched and buried his face in Harry's chest, muffling the sniffles and whimpers he was producing. Harry glared at his cousin and cuddled the child in his arms closer, murmuring comforting things into his hair. Once Ethan had calmed harry returned his attention to Dudley.

"You could have just said no, you didn't have scare Ethan in the process" The dark haired teen, stated, careful to keep his voice steady. "And don't say things like that in front of him, it's bad enough I had a childhood of being called a freak, Ethan doesn't need one it too" Dudley just stared at his cousin and the child in his arms, unsure of how to respond. He quickly pulled himself together as harry turned to exit.

"Yeah, well you deserved it, and he probably will too if he stays with you any longer" He sneered returning to his game, harry stopped in the doorway at his words.

"You just called your own son a freak, No wonder he doesn't like you" The wizard spoke coldly, not even turning to look at his cousin. At these words Harry left the room cooing and chatting to the child he was holding. Dudley sat silently, game forgotten as Harry's words sunk in.  
It wasn't his fault Ethan Didn't like him, he just wasn't good with little kids. It wasn't like he was scared of him. Was he?  
Dudley thought back to earlier in the conversation, when Ethan flinched at him, whimpered when he spoke, sought protection from his freak of a every time Harry left Ethan in his care while he did something else, the child never giggled or tried to get his attention, he just played on his own, giving Dudley wary glances and frowning whenever he tried to play with him. After a while Dudley stopped trying and just watched TV, making sure Ethan didn't hurt himself. After thinking over his limited interactions with Ethan in his head and comparing them to how he saw Harry with Ethan, Dudley came to a conclusion. Harry was right, not only did his son not like him, he was _afraid_ of him. Dudley was surprised by how much the thought troubled him. Was he not the one who said he didn't want a kid in the first place, reminded by this Dudley turned on his TV.  
Yeah, Dudley thought, he didn't even want a kid, he concentrated on the program in front of him. But as sounds of Harry and Ethan's laughter reached his ears, Dudley couldn't help but feel kind of jealous.

* * *

Harry Pushed Ethan's pram down the pavement, listening as the child chatted away in baby talk and pointed curiously at things such as puddles or bikes (When a dog wandered past Ethan nearly burst out of his buggy in excitement). After Dudley had kicked them from his room Harry decided to find his information elsewhere, and so strapping Ethan into his pram, the two left the house, searching for somewhere that could provide what they wanted.

After coming to the nearest town and wandering a bit, Harry happened upon a library he hadn't visited since he left for Hogwarts. When he was young Harry would hide in the library when Dudley chased him, knowing the other child would never step foot in there. At first the building was just used as an excellent hiding place, but soon the boy actually started to explore his sanctuary and found the treasures within, after that he visited regularly. In all the drama at Hogwarts, Harry had forgotten how much he loved reading.

After struggling to pull the pram up the steps harry entered the library for the first time in five years. Coming through the entrance harry found himself in a circular room with a couple of doors and a large archway that led to the main library area and the librarian's desk. Walking through harry saw that everything was exactly as he remembered it; the set of double glass doors that led to the colourful children's room where he would play or read, the row of computers always occupied by someone, shelves upon shelves of books lining every wall, the high windows and the large paintings that he would sit and stare at for hours, trying to imagine the story behind each and every detail and of course the thing he was most glad to see hadn't changed was the middle-aged librarian Mrs. Katte, or Linda as she'd insisted he call her, who was so full of kindness. She talked to harry, put plasters on his cuts, recommended books, played with him, and helped him. He would listen to her rants about her husband and she would listen to his rants about the Dursleys, she'd been Harry's first friend before Hogwarts and the teen regretted that he'd pushed her to the back of his mind.

So with a huge smile on his face and a greeting on his lips harry strolled up to the desk, pushing the pram in front of him. The librarian glanced up from the papers she was folding to the visitor infront of her desk, then back down to what she was doing. "Hi, if you just hold on, I'll be with you in just a second" She greeted turning to put the papers in a filing cabinet behind here. Harry snickered at the fact that she didn't recognize him.

"Well good to see you too Linda" The teen spoke up amusement in his voice. The woman spun round and stared at him, shock on her face, which quickly turned to recognition, surprise and then finally joy.

"Harry Potter, is that you?" At his nod her eyes widened "My, My how you've grown, I last I saw of you, you only came up to here" She indicated to her chest "And now you're towering over me" She threw her arms up and harry laughed earning him a glare from her "Now where have you been all these years? And who's this adorable fella?" At her second question Linda gestured to the infant in the pram, her face softened as did her tone "Hello there, aren't you just the cutest" She cooed to him, Ethan giggled shyly hiding behind his Dragon teddy, Linda chuckled. She looked back up at harry eyebrow raised, though a grin was still apparent on her face "Well? Are you gonna explain?"

"It's a really long story" Harry sighed, happiness deflating slightly "When's you're next break? We could catch up then"

"I could take one now actually, one second I'll go find Sarah…" Mrs. Katte turned to find her colleague.

"Linda" Harry called before she left, the woman walked back to him, smiling fondly "It's really great to see you again" The same smile was on Harry's face as he opened his arms for a hug, She stepped into his embrace.

"Yeah you too, Harry, you too"

* * *

Harry sank back into the comfy armchair, fire blazing in front of him and a cup of warm tea in his hands. Ethan was settled on his lap clutching his dragon and napping contently, Harry kissed the child's head before setting his tea down, cuddling the boy in his arms and slowly dozing off.  
Harry had only been asleep for a few minutes when he was woken by someone softly shaking his shoulder and calling his name. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, the teen looked up to see Linda smiling at him in amusement, with a hint of concern. Once he was fully awake, she sat in the chair opposite and stared at him. Harry stared back, taking in her appearance. Mrs katte was a dark-skinned woman with a rather round face and warm brown eyes. She wasn't very tall, though when harry was a child she had been to him, and was quite slender. She always wore many bracelets so her arms jangled whenever she moved, but she always wore the same necklace, a plain silver heart-shaped locket. Once when harry had asked she'd shown him what was inside, a small picture of her mother on one side and of her little sister on the other. Both had died in the same accident when Linda was young, after that she told him many stories of the things her and her sister would do, Harry loved those stories.  
Harry found that Linda hadn't really changed much over the years, she'd put on a bit of weight and there was a few more wrinkles on her face but nothing drastic. The most noticeable difference was the librarian's hair, which, when he was younger, was always pulled back into a tight ponytail. Now though her dark brown curls were loose and hung by her face, Harry thought she looked very pretty and said so. Linda beamed at the compliment and looked her companion over.

"Well, you don't look too shabby yourself hunny, I can't believe how different you look" She said shaking her head and laughing "Last I remember you were running around the courtyard and getting me to explain big words" Harry blushed at that.

"What can I say, I grew up" Harry shrugged smiling sheepishly at her.

"I'll say" Linda muttered "Last I saw of you harry, you were walking out that door saying 'I'll see you soon' and then I don't see hide nor hair of you until today? And you've got a kid with you?" Harry sighed and answered her question.

"If you wanna hear what's been going on you should make yourself comfortable, this might take a while…" And so Harry told her as much as he could about what had gone on, editing the bits that would give too much away.

He told her about getting his acceptance letter, (_'boarding school in Scotland, how fancy'_)

He told her about his first year (_'you got on the sports team, that's great harry', 'This Hermione seems nice'_)

And about second year (_'The Weasleys sound like a lovely bunch', 'that poor girl, being kidnapped, good thing you found her'_)

About third year (_'Sirius black is your godfather! I remember when he escaped, all over the news it was', 'You broke your arm! Were you ok?', 'Aww, it's good that he's innocent, too bad he's on the run though_)

About his fourth year just gone (_You were in a tournament! Was it hard?', 'That Ron sounds a bit disloyal', 'A Boy was murdered? In front of you! How terrible! Are you ok? I'm surprised the school's not under investigation_)

And finally how he got Ethan "…So he was just there on the doorstep, and I couldn't well leave him, so I brought him in and I've been looking after ever since, because Dudley's useless and Ethan doesn't like him" Harry explained "He's grown on me you know, I think I'll be really upset if he goes" Harry said partly to himself before drawing his attention to the stunned woman across from him. "And all that is why I haven't thought to come here until today" He finally concluded. Linda sat there unsure about what to say about it all

"Well…er that's certainly a lot of drama, I completely understand this little old library being pushed to the back of your mind during all that" She looked towards the child, still asleep after their long conversation, and frowned in thought, before looking back to the one holding him "Erm… Harry, shouldn't you inform social services about Ethan, see if they can find a foster family for him or something if Dudley won't take responsibility". She asked awkwardly, Harry seemed annoyed by the suggestion.

"I am perfectly capable of looking after Ethan and besides I'm a blood relative so I should be allowed, his mother abandoned him, Dudley doesn't want him, neither do my aunt and uncle, the only other person I can think of is marge Vernon's sister and there is no way I'm handing over this child to her. So therefore I should be allowed to look after him" Harry finished his little rant/justification smugly until Linda burst his bubble.

"Harry, you're fourteen, they don't give children to fourteen year olds, and do you even know what you're doing?" She asked impatiently. Harry narrowed his eyes at her, but she just raised her eyebrows at him, the teen sighed in defeat.

"I'm doing my best in the circumstances, you know how I grew up, I don't want the same for him" Her hard gaze softened at his words "It's weird though, I know I'm his uncle and obviously I love him because of that, but it's sort of like I'm his dad, you know, I'm the only on he's got" Harry looked down at Ethan still cuddled up in his arms, still sound asleep. The wizard stroked his hair and the child shifted in his arms before snuggling into his chest. Linda watched this interaction with interest and sighed knowing harry would be hard pressed to give the infant up.

"Fine, I won't nag about it, but you've got to work out what you're doing, you'll go back to school in a couple of weeks, what then?" She asked wondering if Harry had even planned tomorrow.

"I'll work something out okay? Can we just drop it now Linda, please?" The dark-haired woman look at him and relented changing the topic.

"Fine, I won't bring it up again... So what brings you here? Not hiding from Dudley again?" She teased, cheering up at the lighter topic. Harry glared playfully before being reminded of his original intentions.

"Actually, the reason I'm here brings us back to the topic of Ethan, I need some books on how to look after a child" Linda stood going into librarian mode.

"Ahh, well we have a section on that if you'll follow me hunny, also I could give you some advice on how I raised Becky and Phillip…" Harry followed her out of the back room they had been in and into the actual library. He was lead to the Non-Fiction aisle and stopped in front of the label on the shelf saying '**Child Care**'.  
"Here we are, hope this helps you Harry dear, I've got to get back now, so if you need anything just ask" Giving him a quick hug and patting a slowly waking Ethan on the head, she left for her desk.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon picking out a couple of books that looked like they could be helpful, chatting to Ethan, browsing books that looked interesting and sometimes chatting with Linda. At around half past five he decided to call it a day. He'd picked three books on childcare, one fiction book for him to read and a picture book for Ethan, the teen made his way the desk to check them out.

"Hey Linda we're off, I just wanted to take these out" He handed the books over where she scanned and stamped each one before handing them back, Harry placed them into a compartment on the back of the pram then turned back to Linda "It was really great to see you again Linda, cheered me right up" He said while hugging her.

"Yeah, nice to see you too Harry, you looked like you needed cheering up. Now off you pop, you look like you're about to collapse, go home and get some rest Darling" She replied pinching his cheek, Harry batted her hand away and turned to leave. As he walked towards the entrance she called after him "Don't be a stranger now, I want those books back and sent me a letter from that fancy school of yours!"

"Will do, Linda, Will do" He called back waving, Harry then walked out the building and headed home, looking forwards to a long rest after a long day.

* * *

**A/N: Right well hope you enjoyed it, the idea of Linda just popped into my head whether you liked her or not I don't know**. **the library was based on my actual local library were I go a lot, there is also a nice librarian there who has known me and me family since i was little.  
So people of the internet review, tell me what you thought and you're dreams with be filled with rainbow unicorns, glitter and ice cream!  
Hug&Kisses  
-Caggyxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, new chapter enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Harry Potter, but I wish that I did :D**

* * *

Harry was sat cross-legged on the living room floor, Ethan across from him. It had been three days since he'd visited the library and he was getting through those parenting books, he was already setting a schedule (up at seven, breakfast, playtime, nappy change, nap at half ten, lunch at half eleven, playtime, nappy change, playtime, tea at five, bath at six, bed at seven) and now, as the book says, he was trying to teach the child some words, as it seemed he couldn't speak yet.

"Ethan" Harry said softly, holding up the toy cat. "Say cat Ethan, caaat" he drew out the word and made sure to pronounce it correctly. "Come on ethan, Cat, Cat" the teen repeated himself, pointing to the toy in his hand. The small boy watched him in curiosity, then pointed his stubby fingers at the toy excitedly.

"Caa" He repeated, looking to harry for approval, harry clapped his hands and beamed at Ethan.

"Well done, almost there sweetie" He praised "Say CAT" Harry said the word again, louder this time and putting emphasis on the 'T'.

Harry repeated this until finally Ethan opened his mouth and said "Caat" clapping his little hands and still pointing to the toy. Harry broke into a huge grin and jumped up, scooping Ethan into his arms as he rose. He squeezed the little boy tight, then spun him around laughing, Ethan laughed as well loving harry being so excited and from being spun in the air. Harry drew Ethan back into his chest and kissed the boy on the cheek.

"You did it! Who's my amazing little boy! That was so great! My little genius" Harry exclaimed, cuddling the boy close. Ethan grinned adorably at harry and repeated himself.

"Cat, Cat, Cat" The child clapped his hands every time he said the word, harry laughed.

"You know what baby, I think this deserves a treat, don't you think?" Harry walked into the kitchen and towards the cupboards. Opening them he peered inside, looking for something to feed to Ethan. On top of a stack of instant jelly boxes were half a packet of bourbons, harry took a couple and closed the door. Biting in a bourbon, he opened the fridge and looked inside. There was all the usual fridge items; milk, cheese, butter, juice, vegetables etc. there were also quite a few six packs of beer that Vernon liked on the top shelf, a packet of yogurts, some bacon, a packet of mince and-

"Aha" Harry reached inside an picked up a bar of milk chocolate, he shut the fridge and walked over to the table, placing Ethan on top he opened the wrapper and broke off a couple of rows, he gave them to Ethan who immediately shoved some squares into his mouth. Harry put the remainder of the bar back, picked up Ethan and walked back into the living room. "Right now that you've had that how about we try to teach you some more words hm?" The wizard asked as he leant against an armchair, Ethan sat in his lap facing him, the small boy just grinned. Harry laughed as he surveyed the boy's appearance. Ethan was completely covered in melted chocolate; it was smeared across his face, on his sticky hands, and also his clothes. The child had even managed to get it in his hair.

"Or we could clean you up first" Harry chuckled, he placed Ethan on the floor, stood up then propped the child on his hip and walked up to the bathroom. He shut the door then set the infant down; Harry watched as Ethan pulled himself up then toddled around the room, leaving chocolatey handprints everywhere. The teen shook his head in amusement, Aunt Petunia won't like that. The wizard ran a flannel under the warm tap, until it was saturated, he rung out the excess water then went in pursuit of Ethan. Said child obviously thought he was a cat, and was attempting to scale the shower curtain. Harry whirled around when he heard a snap, a thud and, after a short pause, a screeching cry. He walked towards the child-shaped lump under the fallen curtain which was the source of the cries. Pulling off the blue material, revealed a little face, scrunched up in upset and red with crying, this face held a large pair of watery bright blue eyes that stared straight at harry. The wizard's heart melted. "Come here baby" He said taking the little boy in his arms and cuddling him close. Ethan's wails subsided at the comfort given. "Tell harry where it hurts". Understanding Harry's request, the young boy placed his hands on his head and frowned.

"Owie" Ethan whined, harry understood him and gave his head a kiss.

"Aww did you bump your head baby? Well Harry will make it all better" The teen rubbed the spot the Ethan had his hands placed on then kissed it again and gave the child another cuddle. "See all better now?" Harry asked, Ethan nodded but still didn't smile, so harry smiled deviously "Well I'll just have to… Tickle it better then won't I?" He tickled the child's belly, neck and underarms under he was, giggling, squealing and wriggling around in Harry's arms, The only sign of tears were the tracks down the child's face. The teen used the flannel he was still holding to wipe them away. "See I told you it would be all better" The tactic he'd just used was one that he'd seen done at the park when he was younger and by the dinner ladies in primary school. The adult just rubbed the sore spot convinced the child it didn't hurt, then distracted them and sent them on their way, the kid would run off fine.

"Right then little monkey, how about we get back to our original mission; Cleaning you up, you mucky pup" Harry stated, already gently wiping Ethan's face with the flannel. The child nodded his consent and proceeded to babble baby gibberish often interspersed with the word 'Cat' as Harry cleaned him off. Once the boy was all clean, Harry picked him up and went to leave room, glancing worriedly at the damaged shower rail and curtain as he exited. He'd have to fix it later if he had time.

When he arrived downstairs Dudley was sat on the couch, the remote in one hand and a can of coke in the other. When the two entered he turned to look at them. "Hey, Dudley" Harry said politely, going to sit down on the floor with Ethan. The child glanced once at Dudley unsurely before darting off into the corner of the room that Harry left his toys.

"Hey" Dudley grunted back, alternating between watching Ethan and the television. Before Harry could say anything else Ethan came running back, a picture book and the toy cat in his arms, he also had a plastic soldier sticking out of his mouth. The child dropped the book in front of Harry and jabbed his finger in it'd direction, the cat was clutched in his hand, dangling by its fluffy tail and the little green soldier was sucked and chewed on. Harry chuckled, Ethan just pointed again at the book.

"Goog" the child said trying to say the word 'dog' which was the picture on the front of the book.

"Good boy well done" Harry praised clapping "Now let's get that out your mouth" He pried the small green figure from between Ethan's sparse but growing teeth, wiped the saliva on his t-shirt and placed it on the floor. "No toys in your mouth baby" He scolded, not harshly, but so Ethan paid attention. Ethan nodded still pointing to the book.

"Gog" he repeated, staring at his guardian. Harry chuckled and picked up the book, he dragged Ethan onto his lap and opened the book to the first page.

"The Lost Dog" The teen announced, as Ethan listened with rapt attention. "One day a dog named Spot was taken to the park by his owner Jake. Spot the dog saw a cat and so he ran after it and when he stopped spot didn't know where he was…" Harry continued reading softly until the child was napping quietly. The wizard looked down at the child in his arms, his young face so peaceful and cute in while sleeping. Harry cuddled him closer, stroking the soft hair, little Ethan just turned in his arms and snuggled into to his chest. Harry just sat still, happy in the pleasant moment, until he caught a whiff of Ethan. "Whoa I think somebody needs a change" He sing-songed. Harry stood slowly, careful not to jar the child. He walked over to Dudley and stood next to his cousin. The other teen ignored his presence until harry finally cleared his throat, causing Dudley to look up in annoyance.

"What?"

"I need you to just hold Ethan for a bit"

"Why?"

"Because I just need to get his nappy stuff from upstairs" Harry explained.

"Yeah fine whatever" The blond teen muttered looking back to the TV. Harry sighed and carefully settled the infant in Dudley's arms. After readjusting them to the right position, thoroughly checking that the child was ok and shutting off the TV so Dudley would pay more attention, Harry walked towards the stairs. As he was just going through the hallway harry quickly reminded his cousin.

"Be careful and don't wake him" Before racing upstairs.

Dudley was left holding Ethan awkwardly in his arms, holding his_ son _in his arms, and he had absolutely no idea what to do. The teen looked down at the child, remembering Harry's expression as he did the same action, that Nothing-else-matters look that was obvious on his cousin's face. Dudley remembered Ethan mirroring that look as harry praised him. Dudley frowned; Ethan sure as hell didn't have that expression when he looked at him, more of a wary recognition. But Dudley was sure he didn't have blatant love slapped across his face either, so it was a two-way street really. After mulling it over for a bit longer Dudley shrugged it off and just waited for harry to come back. While he was humming the theme tune to his favorite show, Ethan started squirming, his little face scrunched up and his eyes opened. The child took a look at who was holding him, saw harry wasn't there and burst into tears.

"Erm... No don't cry, stop crying, Harry will be back soon" He reassured, panicking slightly as the crying didn't diminish. Flustered, he rocked the child in his arms, hoping to calm him. As he looked around the room his eyes found the pile of toys near the chair he was sat in. Dudley stood, walked over and picked up a toy, which happened to be a bright pink foam ball, he waved it in front of Ethan's face. "Hey Ethan look it's your favourite ball, look how pretty it is"

Ethan calmed as he stared at the object held in front of him, his tears subsided and the previously distraught expression was replaced by curiosity.

"Do you wanna play with the ball Ethan?" Dudley asked glad that he was being distracted from Harry's absence. Ethan looked at the ball, then at Dudley, before nodding shyly. Dudley sighed in relief and set the child on the ground, he then sat opposite him. The little boy watched as the colourful ball was rolled towards him. Ethan caught it and rolled it back, pretty soon they had a good game going on and Ethan was smiling, even giggling as Dudley rolled the ball too far and he had to chase it. Dudley was enjoying himself too; this was the first time that, Ethan seemed to be trusting and liking him, the thought made Dudley happy, he even hugged the boy once, Things were looking up.

Dudley chuckled as Ethan ran around the couch searching for the ball, when he found it he waved it triumphantly at Dudley, a smile on his young face. And that was the scene harry walked into as he returned, carrying the changing bag.

"Hey I'm back, sorry I took so long, went to the toilet and changed my shirt, it was covered in chocolate" He said, staring at in shock at his cousin and Ethan. When he'd left the room, Dudley looked awkward and very reluctant while holding the infant and now the two were playing happily, harry shook his head in disbelief in slight amusement. It was a good thing he guessed, the forming friendship would definitely make life easier. Harry strolled into the room.

Dudley watched as Ethan snapped his head around at the sound of Harry's voice, the small smile he'd been wearing evolved into a full blown grin. The boy dropped the pink ball and ran over to Harry as fast as his little legs would carry him. Harry laughed as a tiny body collided with his legs and grabbed onto his pants, he picked the child up and raised him to eye level.

"Hey baby, you miss me" The wizard kissed his forehead before propping the child on his hip, Ethan laughed happily the whole time.

"As much as I love you little man, you still stink, so let's change you" Harry stated. He placed the changing mat on the couch and the baby on top of it. He quickly changed the child and asked Dudley to dispose of the dirty nappy while he pulled up Ethan's jeans. Dudley left the room and headed toward the kitchen, holding the bag at arm's length. When he came back Harry had Ethan in his arms, he was tickling the child and Ethan was laughing hysterically. Harry stopped and kissed him on the head. Dudley stood in the door way watching, an uncaring a expression schooled onto his face.

"Can, I go now Potter?" he asked, attempting to sound impatient, he didn't really want harry to know how much he was coming to like little Ethan.

"Yes, you can go now" Harry replied rolling his eyes "Say bye to Dudley now baby, say bye bye" He guided. Ethan stuck his arms out arms waved his hand, still slightly shy, but much more comfortable with Dudley.

"Ba bye" The child repeated smiling toothily at his biological father.

"bye" Dudley replied a strained smile on his face, he turned to walk upstairs, hearing these words as he went.

"Ethan can you say Daddy, say Daddy" Dudley closed his door, he needed to go out anyway.

Downstairs harry was staring happily at Ethan, repeating the word to him. He realized that he felt like Ethan was his son, which sort of made him Ethan's dad. Even if it wasn't by blood, and his real dad was actually under the same roof, Harry was the only one Ethan had left and over the past couple of weeks that harry had been caring for Ethan; the two had grown to love each other. And so harry decided that it was time Ethan learn to say what was most kid's first word 'Daddy'.

About ten minutes later and Ethan finally said it "Daddy" the child stuck out his arms towards harry, who picked him up and whirled him around, he hugged him close smiling brilliantly. Ethan wrapped his small arms around his daddy's neck. "Daddy" He repeated squeezing the teen just as tight. During this moment neither heard the front door slam shut.

* * *

It had been a couple of hours and Harry was making Ethan's tea, he had some spaghetti hoops cooking in a pan and some fish fingers in the oven. Harry had left Ethan in the living room to play while he cooked, Dudley had gone out and it wasn't safe for the child to be in the kitchen while he was cooking, and so he'd put Cbeebies on the telly and gave him a toy fire engine , hopefully that would keep him occupied for a while.

* * *

Vernon Dursley had had a bad day. Work had been terrible, He'd spent all day doing paperwork and being shouted at by his boss, he hadn't been able to close a big deal with the owner of a small chain of hardware shops, so he'd been demoted. His lunch had been ruined by an idiot colleague and his wife was out with a couple of her friends spending money they didn't have. So when he finally arrived home all he wanted was to have a beer and watch some TV, he did NOT want to be stuck in the house with the freak and its baby. As Vernon walked into the living room to find 'The Tweenies' on and the damned baby wheeling a big plastic toy truck around, he realized that was exactly what happened. Growling in irritation, the man stalked into the kitchen and yanked open the fridge door, he grabbed a beer and walked out again, completely ignoring his nephew who was staring after worriedly. When walking towards the armchair, he didn't even glance down as he crushed a toy dinosaur underfoot, nor when he kicked the truck Ethan had been playing with across the room. At these actions Ethan's face scrunched up and tears welled in his eyes, Vernon of course, completely ignored him, grabbing the remote as he sat down and changing to a football match. Ethan started crying.

"Be quiet" Vernon growled while turning up the volume. When as goal was scored the crowd cheered, Ethan started screaming. "FOR GOD'S SAKE SHUT UP!" Vernon roared at the baby, if anything Ethan cried louder.

Harry, hearing the commotion, dropped the pan onto the counter and rushed from the kitchen, he threw the living room door open just in time to see his uncle's beefy hand connect with Ethan's face.

* * *

**A/N: Oh don't you just hate Vernon! I hope you enjoyed it thanks for all the follows and favourites I've been getting and to the three communities this story has been added to Thank you! Much appreciated!** **so if you liked it review favourite and follow and you'll get a virtual unicorn :3 . Hopefully next chapter will be out soon.**

**Sparkles&Skittles**

**-Caggyxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey Guys, It's been a while but i finally uploaded, hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Ethan.  
**

* * *

Ethan paused his crying in shock, the force of the blow knocking the small child to the ground, as he hit the floor he suddenly started screaming tears pouring down his face.

"DAAADDY! DAAADDY" Ethan saw Harry in the doorway and rushed over, still crying hysterically, there was a red mark where he'd been smacked. Harry spotted it and saw red.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU! YOU MAY SMACK ME ABOUT BUT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO HIT _MY_ CHILD!" The teen had stormed over to his uncle and was screaming in his face, Vernon scowled in anger.

"Don't you talk to me that way Boy! This is my house and I can do whatever I God damn like! It's not even your kid" He spat out face purpling. Harry was overwhelmed with rage. Completely forgetting he was a wizard, Harry drew back his fist and punched Vernon square in the face. The man's head reeled back in shock and he stumbled a few steps, before he could regain his composure Harry hit again, a satisfied smirk gracing his face as he heard a grotesque crunch and his fist connected with bone. While Vernon was hunched over, clutching his broken and bleeding face, Harry turned towards his still crying son.

"Come here baby…shh… it's okay, you're okay" He said scooping the child up and cuddling him close. "Everything is okay sweetie we're gonna get out of here and go somewhere nice" He stroked the child's hair as Ethan clutched his shirt burying his face in his chest. Now that the initial anger had gone harry was just upset and worried, he shouldn't have left Ethan alone in that room, what if he hurt him worse? And he had to leave here if this is the way they were gonna be treated, screw what the Order say, he would not let the same things that happened to him happen to his baby!

As he was taking the first few steps up the stairs the door opened and Dudley walked in, Harry turned towards him.

"Hey harry how's Eth-" His cousin cut off as he noticed the tears still running down Ethan's cheeks and the ones threatening to fall from Harry's eyes. "What's wrong?"

Fiercely wiping his eyes, Harry glared at his cousin "Your Father just smacked Ethan across the face for crying, so I punched him" The wizard hissed out, Dudley gaped.

"I know Dad wasn't exactly happy with Ethan here, but I didn't think he'd ever go that far"

"Yeah well he's treated me like shit my entire life so what can you expect" Harry muttered bitterly "Look your dad's a danger to Ethan so I'm taking him and we're leaving"

Dudley opened his mouth to seemingly object, but was cut off by a roar from the living room.

"YOU"LL FUCKING REGRET THAT YOU BLOODY FREAK!"

Harry cursed, ran up the stairs and into his room. He threw clothes and baby supplies into a rucksack he'd found in a pile of Dudley's old junk, the zip was bust but it would have to do. As he was stuffing Ethan's t-shirts into one of the pockets, Harry worried whether he'd be able to get his trunk and other magical things from his cupboard.

* * *

Dudley stood at the bottom of the stairs staring after his frantic cousin. He still couldn't believe his dad had gone that far, Ethan was just a little kid. Maybe Harry was right, Ethan wasn't safe. He turned as Vernon came storming into the hallway.

"WHERE IS HE? I'M GONNA KILL HIM" the large man bellowed and moved to walk past Dudley, heading for the stairs. Making his decision, the blond teen planted himself in front of his father.

"Dad go back into the living room" He stated with determination, looking his father in the eyes. The man spluttered in disbelief, before shaking his head.

"Move aside Dudders I've got to teach that freak and it's kid a lesson!" He shouted the last part upstairs. Dudley was shocked, Harry was right; he shoved his father backwards towards the room he'd just left.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping Harry" The teen stated before shoving his dad into the living room and slamming the door shut, the heavy set teen leaned against the door, effectively blocking his father in.

"What's gotten into you Boy?" the man yelled banging on the wooden door.

"Ethan's my son, it may have taken me a while to realize it, but he is and so I'm helping harry to protect him, because I know, with him, he'll be safe" Dudley answered calmly, more to himself then his dad.

"SAFE? WITH THE FREAKS! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND SON?" Dudley ignored him and waited for Harry to come down. He was finally doing the right thing.

* * *

Harry rushed down the stairs, the large rucksack on his back and Ethan in his arms. The little boy had a backpack of his own, stuffed with various clothes and toys, the cuddly dragon in his hands. Harry stopped when he saw his cousin leaning against the living room door and heard his uncle's angry shouts from the other side.

"What are you doing?" he asked bewildered.

"Helping" Dudley replied, smiling slightly. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Harry just shrugged and walked towards the cupboard. The clunky metal padlock was still there, Harry sighed.

"What am I gonna do?" Dudley thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Unless you can pick it, I got nothing" Harry turned back to the door, he had no idea how to pick a lock. Harry unhooked Ethan and placed him on the ground before heading to the kitchen to find something to get rid of the lock.

"Don't let him out of your sight" He warned Dudley "I'll be right back"

While harry was in the kitchen searching through draws, his cousin watched the child in front of him. Ethan pulled himself onto his feet and stood in front of the small door, he reached his hands up and grabbed onto the lock.

"Hey, what are you doing little dude?" Dudley asked curiously, the child ignored his tugging on the cold metal. When Dudley was about to ask again, Ethan gave to particularly strong tug, The blonde teen's mouth dropped as the padlock dropped open and fell to the ground. The child giggled clapping his hands.

"Daddy" Ethan called smiling in triumph.

"Harry, get in here!" Dudley yelled into the kitchen, still staring in shock at what Ethan had done. Harry rushed from the kitchen and stared at his cousin questioningly, Dudley just pointed at the door. Harry looked in that direction and noticed the padlock lying open on the ground.

"How did that happen?" He asked, picking a still smiling Ethan up.

"I…He just sort of…tugged on it and it… opened" Dudley replied still confused on what had happened. Harry's eyebrow flew up in shock, before his face broke out in a smile.

"He did magic!" The teen stated happily "Who's my clever little boy" Harry hugged Ethan, kissing him on the head. He turned towards the small door and pulled it open, looking inside he found his firebolt, his trunk and various other things that he'd brought back. Handing Ethan to Dudley, he dragged the trunk out into the hallway, then took everything else out as well. Looking at it all harry groaned. "How am I gonna lug all this around?" Dudley shrugged.

"I'd help but…" He nodded toward the door, where Vernon was still shouting, Harry waved it off and pushed the trunk towards the front door, he got it onto the drive then turned back to collect everything else. Shoving as much as he could into the rucksack, harry covered his firebolt with the invisibility cloak and placed it inside his trunk. Walking back inside, the wizard approached his cousin, he took Ethan back into his arms and looked at Dudley.

"Thanks for helping, I really appreciate it" The blonde just shrugged.

"Least I could do, I guess" Harry chuckled and then did something neither of them thought he'd ever do. Harry hugged Dudley. It was very brief and after the wizard pulled away they both stood slightly awkwardly, after a pause harry cleared his throat.

"I should go now" He said indicating towards the door.

"yeah you should" Dudley agreed "Bye Ethan" he waved at the child, who waved back happily before snuggling into Harry's chest and dozing off.

"Guess the drama tired him out" Harry muttered, walking to the door, he turned at the call of his name.

"Look after him, yeah?" Dudley said, Harry smiled and nodded at his cousin.

"Course I will" He reassured "I could write you… tell you how he's doing and stuff… If you want?"

"Whatever" Dudley answered "See you then"

"Yeah… Bye" Harry walked through the door closing it behind him. Dudley slumped in relief, then opened the door he was leaning on. It was time he had a chat with his Father.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it, i wasn't to happy with this chapter personally but I want to hear you opinions. Also i wrote harry and Dudley's part like that because i imagine after a lifetime of disliking each other, suddenly working together would be rather awkward.**

**Review and favourite and you'll be rewarded with an invisbile tardis! YAAY! :D  
**

**-Caggyxx  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Helloooooo People of the internet! I am ever so sorry about how long this has taken to post and I know it's not very long but my laptop broke and I've been jumping onto my parents computer whenever I can which is not a lot. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes I have no Beta and please review, favourite and follow!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing (Though I wish I did) apart from Ethan and the Katte family.  
**

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**Chapter 6**

Harry pushed the trunk down the driveway and up the street, looking back now and again to check he wasn't being followed. He was rather surprised by how much of a help Dudley had been, but he wasn't going to complain. He guessed even someone like Dudley doesn't want their child in danger. Once the teen was out of sight of the house, he stopped and dropped down on the trunk. What would he do now? With Hedwig at Ron's, he had no way of getting in contact with anyone from the magical world, and even if his owl was here, the others were always going on about how unsafe owl-post was now, he couldn't really tell them he'd left in a letter. Harry supposed he could go to some sort of hostel, but he had no idea if there were any nearby. The wizard huffed in frustration; he looked up at the sky and the dark ominous clouds gathering, of course it would start raining. Either way it was almost seven he couldn't be walking the streets in the dark, in the rain with a child.

After weighing all his options, harry realised there was only one place he could go on such short notice, and really only one way to get there. The teen stood, fished his wand out of his pocket and stuck it in the air. A second later, the Knight Bus popped into existence and the doors slid open.

"Welcome to the Knight bus" Said the bus conductor Harry knew as Stan shunpike. Flattening his fringe over his forehead, harry heaved the large trunk onto the vehicle.

"And where are you headed?" Harry gave the address, paid the fare and went to find a seat away from others. Ethan, woken up by all the activity, was now looking around curiously at his surroundings.

"This is called the Knight Bus Ethan" Harry murmured to him "And it's gonna take us to a safe place"

Harry sat down near the back of the bus, with Ethan perched on his lap. The teen wrapped his arms securely around the small body and braced himself, he knew how bumpy this ride could get. The Bus shot off and Harry closed his eyes, he hated taking the Knight Bus, Ethan, on the other hand seemed to be having the time of his life. He sat, wide-eyed in excitement with a huge grin on his face and at every bump, sharp turn or near-crash, Ethan would burst into peals of laughter. After a while, the vehicle halted abruptly and driver yelled out his stop. Shakily Harry stood, Ethan now standing on his own and toddling forward down the aisle. Harry quickly gathered his belonging and hurried after the child. He thanked the driver and went to his son who had hopped down the steps and was now waiting. Placing the trunk down and pulling Ethan close, to stop him from straying, Harry watched from the pavement as the bus doors slid closed then shot off out of sight. The teen turned and looked at the address he'd arrived at.

Linda's house was fairly plain and normal; red brick, semi-detached with a blue wooden door, metal fence and a slightly overgrown garden. There was a bike and a football left on the grass and a red car parked in the drive. As he said fairly normal (More normal than the Dursleys ever hoped to be) Harry sort of felt like he was intruding, considering how ridiculous his life was turning out to be. Snorting at his thoughts, Harry gathered up his courage and headed up the garden path. As if sensing his anxiousness, Ethan, previously excitable due to the bus ride, was now quiet and clutching to Harry's trouser leg, as his father dragged the bulky trunk to the door. Reaching the front door, the wizard set down his luggage, picked up Ethan and rang the doorbell. The duo waited apprehensively for someone to answer, Harry biting on his fingernails. Before long they saw a figure through the frosted glass panel approaching, a key was turned in the lock and the door was opened by a young girl. She was dark-skinned like her mother and her brown hair was in two plaits hanging down her shoulders, she wore light blue jeans and a purple t-shirt with a cartoon penguin on it. Harry smiled nervously as she looked him up and down, taking in the shabby clothes, the luggage and obviously the child perched on his hip.

"Hello" She greeted warily, having made her assessment of him.

"Hey, you must be Rebecca"

"Erm... Yeah... Who are you?" She asked in confusion, having never met this boy who knew her name.

"Oh Sorry, I'm Harry, a friend of your Mum" He replied.

"Oh right and erm... Who's that?" She pointed to the child he was holding.

"This is Ethan" He answered "Erm, Rebecca, could you go get your mum for me? It's kinda important"

The girl continued to stare at Ethan, who was still quiet and wary in the presence of this stranger, before replying to his request.

"Erm... Of course I'll just get her now" She then shut the door and walked away.

* * *

Rebecca was thinking as she climbed the stairs to retrieve her mum. This boy seemed strange; he looked younger than her brother but a bit older than her, why did he have a little kid with him? Was it his brother? And why did he have all those bags with? Was he running away? Seemed like it with how desperate and nervous he was. And what was with the big red mark on the baby's face? Did someone hit him? Was that why the boy was running away? And why did they want her mum? How did they even know her? Questions swirled through her mind as she opened the door to her Mum and Dad's bedroom. Her mother was sat at her desk typing away at her laptop, she paused at the call of her name and turned to face her daughter.

"Yes honey?"

"There's a boy at the door for you"

"A boy?" Linda asked in confusion.

"Yeah said his name's Harry" Her mother, now stood and walking towards Rebecca, started at this. "He's got this kid with him as well, called Ethan or something"

"Okay, thanks honey" Linda walked past her daughter and down the stairs, an expression of confusion and concern on her face. Rebecca, curious as always, followed her mother.

Linda opened the door and saw, as she'd expected, Harry Potter on her doorstep, little Ethan perched on his hip and his luggage next to him.

"Erm... Hey Linda"

"Harry dear, what are you doing here?" The teen sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I left the Dursleys" He replied, indicating to the luggage lying in the driveway, Linda took in the trunk and rucksack before shaking her head in confusion.

"I know the Dursleys weren't the best of relatives, but you refused to leave them before, Lord knows why, what made you now?"

Harry didn't answer at first, just shifted Ethan around so the fading red mark was completely visible.

"Does that look like a safe place for him to live?" He challenged, the child just burrowed into Harry shyly, he cuddled him in comfort. Linda gasped at the implication shaking her head in disgust and disapproval.

"What did he 'do'?"

"Made too much noise" The teen muttered bitterly "I may have put up with it my entire childhood, but he sure as hell won't!"

Linda looked at him sadly before sighing. "I think I can guess why you've come then" She said.

"It's only for a week or two, until I can get in contact with someone from school or something, or find some other place. I swear I won't be here long"

"That's okay sweetie, you can stay as long as you want" She ushered him in and Harry visibly sagged in relief, he collected his trunk and dragged it into the hallway. Linda closed the door behind him then turned to her daughter, who'd been watching the whole interaction with a look of confusion. "Becky dear, run and get your dad"

After giving her Mum one last questioning look, Rebecca walked towards the kitchen. Harry shuffled nervously and tried to quiet Ethan who was squirming to be put down. He'd never met Linda's husband and though, from what she'd told him, he seemed like a nice bloke, The wizard didn't know how he'd react to a teenager he'd never met before turning up on his doorstep with his child and asking to stay. If Frank said no Harry supposed he could find a hostel or something, but it was getting dark now and he wouldn't feel safe, especially with Ethan. While Harry was mentally weighing his options, Frank Katte walked into the hallway. When he saw Harry he stopped in surprise, the teen straightened and smoothed down his worn clothes.

"Hi, I'm Harry" He stuck his hand out and Frank slowly shook it, still obviously puzzled about the situation.

"Er... I'm Frank"

Frank Katte was a tall man with light brown hair and a receding hairline. He wore smart grey trousers, a dark blue buttoned shirt and a tie knotted loosely around his neck. From his appearance, Harry deducted that he'd recently arrived home from work. The teen hoped he'd had a good day. After a slightly awkward silence Linda spoke up.

"Frank love, this is Harry Potter, you know, the boy from the Library I told you about" Harry smiled shyly as the man nodded in recognition.

"It's nice to finally meet you then Harry"

"You too Mr. Katte" The man's questioning look returned when he looked at the child, Linda continued the introductions.

"And this is little Ethan, Harry's..." The librarian trailed off, unsure of what to call the infant.

"This is my son" Harry stated firmly, Linda sighed before nodding in acceptance after a look from Harry. Seeing her husband's confusion at the exchange, Linda gave him a 'Tell you later' look; he nodded and changed the subject.

"So... Someone care to explain what's going on?"

Linda dived into an explanation about everything that had gone on with him lately, finishing off with the events of tonight. Afterwards Harry braced himself for rejection, already thinking where the nearest hotel was and how the hell he would pay for it. So it came as a complete surprise when Frank gave his answer.

"Yeah okay, you can stay on the couch tonight and I'll clear some space in one of the rooms tomorrow"

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't see why not, long as you don't make trouble and from what I've heard you'll be off to boarding school come September so you might as well"

"You two are the best, I can't thank you enough, what can I do in return?" he expressed gratefully.

"Harry dear, it's no trouble don't worry yourself, It'll be nice to have a baby running round the house again" Linda reassured "Now why don't you and Frank go make up your and Ethan's beds and I'll make us some tea"

Harry nodded in agreement and she took the infant from his arms and walked towards the kitchen, humming a soft soothing tune to the child. Once she'd disappeared through the door, Harry looked towards Frank, the man turned and walked towards the stairs.

"C'mon, the sheets cupboard is up here" He instructed "You won't have any problem with Ethan sleeping with you until we get a cot or something"

"Nope, that's fine"

"Good, I'll show you around then" He ascended the staircase and Harry followed behind him.

* * *

Two hours of bed-making, Linda's great tea and lullabies later, Harry was finally resting. He was sprawled across the worn couch with a quietly sleeping Ethan in his arms. The child had really liked Linda and Frank and they had loved him in return. He hoped the same would be said for Rebecca and Phillip but he would see. Harry kissed his son's head and closed his eyes. Everything had turned out well, the pair was somewhere they were wanted, he was happy and most importantly his baby boy was safe and that was all that mattered to the wizard right now.

Harry slowly drifted off, a small smile on his lips, and for the first time in a long time, Harry dreamt of the future. It made him happy.

* * *

**A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed that, as I said before, please leave a review in that lovely little box below, it would be very much appreciated! Thanks very much!  
-Caggyxx :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey people, here's Chapter 7, hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ethan and the Katte family.**

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Harry had been staying with Linda and her family for a week now and it had been great. After the first night, Phillip had cleared some space in his room and Frank had put a blow up mattress down, so that's where he had been sleeping, with Ethan asleep in his carrier next to it. He'd been getting on brilliantly with Phillip, though the boy was two years older than him. When he'd found out Harry knew barely anything about Pop Culture he'd insisted on teaching him and as a result, Harry had spent anytime not with Ethan, listening to music and watching T.V with Phil. Rebecca was nice as well, though a bit nosy. She was taken with Ethan and played with him all the time, he loved her in return. The girl was a God send whenever harry was busy. Linda was turning out to be the best, on the third day of Harry's stay she'd dragged him into town and insisted on buying him some new clothes and toys for Ethan, after a lot of protesting the Gryffindor had eventually given in to the stubborn woman. He now had two new pairs of jeans, four new t-shirts, new underwear and a new pair of trainers that were on sale. Ethan had gained a new teddy bear, some Duplo, some new clothes and jungle book on video. When they'd brought the stuff home the infant had been overjoyed, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Most of the Duplo pieces were lost within a few days, but he slept with the teddy, along with his toy dragon and Jungle book was watched every night before bed at Ethan's demand, He could now say 'Mowgli', 'Baloo' and 'Jungle', which he repeated over and over until had put in the video. It was Frank that Harry had least contact with, the man being at work every day, but the times they did talk were interesting.

* * *

On Sunday evening, Harry was in the kitchen making tea for him and Linda, who was in the living room with Ethan. It was almost eight o'clock and so his son was up later than usual, but they had been at the park all day with Rebecca and so his schedule was being ignored.

Harry walked into the living room with the two mugs in his hands, Linda was curled up on the couch and Ethan was sat next to her, dummy in his mouth, dragon in his arms and his eyes glued to the television screen. As he handed Linda her tea, he sang along to the words he now knew by heart.

"Look for the bare necessities, the simply bare necessities, forget about your worries and your strife..."

Linda chuckled at him "I think you watch this too much, you love it as much as he does" She nodded towards Ethan who was clapping along. Harry glared at her.

"Well it's your fault for buying it for him then, isn't it"

"Just be glad I didn't buy Cinderella"

They sat watching until the clock chimed half past eight, Harry jumped at the sound, and then glanced down at his watch, confirming the time.

"Wow, I should really get him to bed, he never stays up this late" Harry walked over to the VCR and ejected the video, placed it back into its case then shut off the television. At the blank screen, Ethan immediately started crying. He slid off the couch and toddled over to his daddy and started pulling on his trouser leg.

"Jungul, Jungul, mogi" he demanded. Harry sighed and scooped up his son.

"You can watch Jungle tomorrow, it's bed time now" The teen father told him, there was a silence then Ethan spat out his dummy and started wailing.

"JUNGUL JUNGUL JUNGUL NOW!" Ethan scrunched up his face and screamed the words; he beat his tiny fists against Harry's arm. "WANT JUNGUL NOW!"

Not conceding to the tantrum, Harry just ignored the demands "No Ethan it's bed time now, so stop it"

"JUNGUL JUNGUL!" As the toddler got more worked up, the lights began to flicker, objects in the room began to tremble and shake, Ethan's tub of Duplo flipped over, the blocks scattering all over the floor, a bookcase began to rattle and a few books fell to the ground. Harry recognised the accidental magic caused by Ethan's anger, he was shocked by how powerful it was, but knew it had to be stopped before damage was done. He looked over to where Linda was sat, the usually calm woman had gone completely pale and was gripping the armrest so hard her knuckles were white. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at the objects moving on their own.

"JUNGUL!" Ethan screamed again and the light bulb exploded in a shower of sparks and glass. Linda screamed and ducked, her arms coming to cover her head, as the room was plunged into darkness.

"Ethan, stop it right now!" Harry ordered "Do you want to go in the naughty corner?"

The child ignored him continuing to shriek and still causing the objects to rattle.

"Alright fine, naughty corner it is" Harry marched out of this room and into the dining room next door, then went straight to the corner and placed Ethan down on a small wooden child's chair. "You'll sit there until you've calmed down" He stood up and walked away, going to check on Linda. As expected, Ethan stood up and followed him, still wailing. The wizard picked him up and placed him back on the chair. This happened a few times until Ethan stayed, his cries quieted considerably. Harry walked out of the room, leaving the door ajar and back into the living room, his watch set for two minutes.

In the living room Linda was still sat on the couch completely tensed up and staring at the broken light bulb as if expecting it to blow up again. Now that Ethan had left the room and calmed down, all the wild magic in the room had dissipated and everything had settled down. Harry slowly walked over to her and sat down; she jumped when he placed his hand on her arm then turned to look at him.

"Linda, Are you okay?" he asked trying to comfort her.

"Harry what the hell was that? Was that Ethan?" She demanded "I can tell that you know, because you don't look at all surprised that it happened" Harry sighed. He knew he couldn't bluff his way out of this one, but he still didn't know if he could tell her, wouldn't he be breaking laws?

"Look...I'm really not supposed to tell you this, but since I can hardly obliviate you, I mean I don't think anyone even knows I'm here, I suppose I'll have to because you probably won't just drop it, Will you?" He added on the last part hopefully, but sighed again when she firmly shook her head.

"You better tell me what is going on right now Harry, Does Ethan have some powers or something? Because he **blew up **my light bulb and made objects **move**!"

"Right, this will sound crazy, but I swear it's the truth" The brunette promised, running a hand through his hair in agitation "I'm a wizard and so is Ethan, we have magic" He admitted.

"I'm sorry what?" Linda stared at him like he was insane.

"Right you know how I disappeared after my eleventh birthday?" Linda nodded "Well, I was sent a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Inviting me to come there. It's a huge castle in Scotland" As he explained Linda sat speechless with shock and disbelief. "That's where I go every year; I stay there for Christmas and go back to the Dursleys for summer"

"Okay so let me get this straight, Magic is real, you and Ethan are both Wizards and you go to a magical school that teaches it" she spoke slowly trying to understand everything he had just told her.

"Yes, I have a wand, a broomstick, an invisibility cloak, cauldron, the lot" Harry slid he wand out of his pocket and presented it to Linda, who just stared at it incredulously "It's Holly and Phoenix feather"

"_PHEONIX!_ They're real!"

"And dragons, Unicorns, Mermaids, fairies, goblins, elves, they're all real"

"No way" Linda muttered in amazement.

"In fact I could-" Harry broke off as his watched beeped. "Back be in a minute Linda"

He stood and walked out of the room and into the dining room. Ethan was sat on the chair, now silent apart from sniffles, his cheeks were stained from tears and his nose was running, when he spotted Harry he stuck his arms out to be held. Harry crouched in front of him and wiped his face.

"Now what do we say?" He asked gently but firmly.

"Sorry Daddy" Ethan answered.

"Good boy, now we'll go say goodnight to Linda then get you to bed" Harry picked his son up and Ethan wrapped his small arms around Harry's neck, he yawned and cuddled closer. The teen walked into the living room with Ethan and picked up his dummy and teddy. He turned to Linda.

"Say goodnight to Linda baby"

"Na night" The child mumbled sleepily, eyes already closing, Harry chuckled quietly.

"I'll just put him to bed" He whispered to Linda, She nodded.

"We're not finished though" Harry nodded at her then turned and walked up the stairs.

* * *

Phillip's room was empty; the older boy was still out with his friends. Harry walked over to Ethan's carrier; he picked up a blanket from the blow up mattress next to it and wrapped Ethan up in it. He laid the child inside the carrier. Ethan was already sleeping peacefully and the teen smiled down at him. He stroked the boy's soft hair then kissed his head.

"Sweet Dreams baby" he spoke softly. Harry stood and walked towards the door, glancing back; he flicked off the light and walked out of the room and back down the stairs.

When he got back to the living room, Linda had made them both a new cup of tea. She was visibly calmer and had cleared all the mess caused by Ethan's outburst; a lamp next to the couch had been turned on to make up for the broken bulb. Harry sat down and accepted the mug Linda handed him, taking a long drink.

"Carry on then" Linda urged.

"Right then... Where was I?"

"You were talking about Unicorns and Goblins and stuff"

"Oh Yeah, well all those mythical creatures, they're all real... Actually..." Harry trailed off in thought and Linda stared at him "Dobby" Harry called.

"Harry what are you..." She trailed off her confused question as a small creature popped into the room.

"Mister Harry Potter Sir" The creature squeaked in excitement "What can you be wanting of Dobby?"

"Hello Dobby, I don't want anything really, I'd just like to introduce you to someone, Dobby this is my good friend Linda"

"How nice to meet another of Harry Potter's Friends"

"Linda, this is Dobby, he's a house elf" Linda nodded absently as she stared at the creature standing in front of her.

"Pleased to meet you" The librarian muttered "Harry, just what is a House elf?"

"House elves are obviously a species of elf, they serve wizards, and each elf has a master whose orders it follows"

"Except Dobby, Dobby is a free elf thanks to Harry Potter" the elf added in.

"A free elf?" Linda asked

"Erm yeah, I freed Dobby back in my second year, He was bound to Lucius Malfoy and treated horribly"

"Oh well that was good of you, so what do house elves do?"

"Well they cook, clean, tidy, garden, wash, basically whatever its master wants it to, they're bound to follow orders"

"That sounds like slavery to be honest" Linda decided.

"Well yeah, it is a bit, but I think they enjoy it, my friend Hermione started this campaign to get them rights and get them freed and stuff but they didn't appreciate it very much"

"Oh I guess if they like it then..." Linda trailed off a bit uncomfortable about the whole idea. Seeing her discomfort Harry turned towards Dobby.

"Okay Dobby, you can go now"

"Bye Harry Potter, Bye Harry Potter's friend" Waving he popped away again.

"Okay so that was a house elf, there are creatures like that all over the Wizarding world, Goblins run our banks, Dementors guard our prison, there are Dragon sanctuaries, Ron's brother works at one in Romania, in fact there's a huge forest next to Hogwarts full of magical creatures"

"Okay so I can accept that about the magical creatures, but do you seriously do magic?"

"Yep, remember a couple of weeks ago when a told you about what had happened at school since I'd been there"

"Yeah"

"Well... I lied about some things..." Harry then went on to tell the _real_ story of his school years, not missing out anything, by the end Linda was covering her mouth in horror.

"Oh my God Harry, that's horrible, all those awful things happening to you, it's a miracle you're still alive! This school doesn't sound safe at all! And that Voldemort! How terrible and he's back you say?"

"Yeah, he's back, but don't worry he's still weak yet. And the only reason the majority of those things happen to me is because I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, Golden Boy, Saviour, whatever you want to call it, because of who I am I'm a target, it's not something I want but I suppose I've got to live with it"

"Yeah you mentioned that Boy-Who-Lived thing at the start, what did you mean?"

"Okay, so when I was a baby my parents went into hiding, but they were betrayed, on Halloween Voldemort attacked our home, my mother ran up to the nursery to protect me while my father tried to fight him, Voldemort killed my father then went upstairs to get me, my mother stood in front of my cot, he told her to move but she wouldn't so he killed her, then he turned to me he hit me with the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, a curse that is supposedly impossible to survive, I however did, the curse rebounded and hit Voldemort, his body was destroyed and his soul escaped, all I was left with was this scar" Harry pointed to his forehead "After years of war I had 'defeated' him and so I was rejoiced as the Boy-Who-Lived, a saviour" He finished the story and looked up from the spot that he'd been staring at while telling it, to see Linda's reaction. Linda had tears in her eyes as she looked at him, after a moment she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh darling, I'm so sorry" She comforted and he leaned into her "I thought you said they died in a car crash?"

"Yeah that's what Aunt Petunia told me" He muttered bitterly "Anyway..."

The two of them talked for hours as Harry explained everything about the Wizarding world to Linda and she listened in shock and wonder at everything she was told. Eventually they came back to the topic of Ethan.

"So Ethan is what we call Muggleborn, that's someone who's parents and grandparents are both Muggles but they have magic" He explained "Muggleborns are looked down on by some people, mostly Pureblood elitists, they think they're inferior and say they have dirty blood and their magic is weaker, all a bunch of rubbish but it's basically the Wizarding World's version of racism"

"How stupid, so what's a Pureblood then?" She asked slightly insulted

"A Pureblood is someone whose whole family have magic to at least their grandparent's generation, most Pureblood families go back hundreds of years and that's why some are so up themselves, and the final classification is Halfblood, which is what I am, a Halfblood is someone who has one magical parent and one muggle parent"

"But wait... Both your parents were magical so why are you Halfblood?"

"Because my mother was Muggleborn so one side of my grandparents were Muggles making me a Halfblood"

"I think I get it..." She replied unsurely and Harry laughed.

"Don't worry it doesn't mean anything anyway really"

Linda changed the subject to a more pressing matters "So at the end of the summer you're going back to Hogwarts and taking Ethan with you"

"That's the plan" Harry agreed

"How is that going to work? What about class? Where will he sleep? Are you even allowed to do that?"

"Linda don't worry, I'll work something out and I'm sure Dumbledore will be fine with it, he's always talking about the power of love and I love Ethan like he's my own"

"But is it even a good idea? What with that Voldemort back won't he be in danger?"

"Linda stop worrying, everything will be fine, I'll keep him safe, okay?" He said exasperated.

"Fine, Fine, but I hope you know what you're doing" She warned him.

"It will be fine" He answered "I swear"

They sat chatting for a while longer until Harry yawned. "Looks like I'm more tired than I thought" He looked at the clock "Half past eleven, I should get to bed"

"Yeah me too" Linda added, before he could walk off she stopped him. "Look Harry, I'm really glad you told me all this, I know you weren't supposed to, so thank you"

"It's fine, just don't tell anyone else, not even Frank if you can help it, I could get in trouble just telling you" He warned and she nodded.

"Don't worry, I won't say a word" She promised

"Thanks" He smiled at her "Best get off then, Goodnight Linda" Harry leaned over and hugged her, she squeezed him tight as she answered.

"Night darling, sleep well" Harry stood, walked up the stairs and into Phillip's room. The room was now occupied, Phil returning shortly before, he was sat reading and listening to his walkman.

"Hey Harry" The older boy greeted absently.

"Hey" Harry answered yawning after. He changed and then flopped down on his makeshift bed, he checked on Ethan, who was still sleeping soundly, then fell straight to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you liked it, i got the naughty corner bit off Super nanny. Sorry that not much happens but my internet has been off all week and i just wanted to get something out, so please favourite and review, Thanks :D**

**-Caggyxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey! Next chapter! Draco finally makes an appearance. Hope you like it! :D  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ethan and the Katte family. How sad :(**

* * *

It was a few days before Harry would leave for Hogwarts and as he was feeding Ethan his lunch, there was a tapping on the kitchen window. He walked over and pulled up the blinds, on the other side of the glass was a brown owl, a letter held firmly in its beak.  
"It's about time" He muttered.  
Harry pushed open the window and the owl flew inside, landing on the back of a chair. Harry filled a bowl with water and placed it on the table, he took the letter from the bird and it flew over to the bowl and started drinking. Harry examined the letter, as usual, his address was written in green swirly letters on the front of the parchment envelope.

_Harry James Potter  
__Kitchen  
__176 Holland Road  
__Surrey, England._

Harry opened the envelope, pulled out the two pieces of parchment, one the usual reminders and the other that years booklist. He scanned the list; only two books had changed: '_Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5' _by Miranda Goshawk and '_Defensive Magical Theory' _by Wilbert Slinkhard. Harry wondered who the new DADA teacher was. He slid the letters back into their envelope and put it into his pocket. He walked back over to Ethan and continued feeding him, glad that the fruit chunks weren't all over the floor.

"Guess what love, you're going to see Diagon Alley tomorrow, isn't that exciting" He cooed, Ethan beamed up at him and then threw a chunk of melon at his face. Harry laughed as he wiped juice off his nose.

* * *

The next day, Harry had Ethan buckled up in his pram as he got ready to leave for Diagon Alley. He grabbed purse full of money out of his trunk, made sure he had Ethan's nappy bag and gave Ethan his Spider-Man action figure to play with. Once he had checked everything and nothing was forgotten he opened the door and headed out.

"Rebecca, we'll be back in a couple of hours" He called to the only other in the house.

"Alright, Bye Harry, Bye Ethan" She replied

"Bye bye Becca" Ethan shouted as Harry closed the door behind them. He walked a little way down the street until he was out of view of the house; he checked there was nobody walking past before taking his wand out and sticking it into the air. Seconds later the Knight Bus pulled up and the doors slid open. Harry manoeuvred the pram onto the bus, stated his destination, paid the driver then found a seat with space for the pram next to it. The bus shot off and Harry kept a tight grip onto Ethan for fear of him going flying. Ethan meanwhile was sucking contently on his dummy and smacking Spider-Man's head against a bar.

They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and Harry quickly got off, thanking the driver as he did. He opened the door to the pub and pushed Ethan inside. A few heads turned his way and the ones that did kept staring, whispering to their friends nearby. Ignoring the whispers that followed them, Harry pushed his way through the Pub and got to the alley behind it. He tapped the bricks and waited as the wall opened up.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Ethan, you'll love it!"

Ethan had never been so excited; he was bouncing in his pram, a huge grin on his face as he pointed at every new thing and babbling joyful. He clapped his hands and giggled at every display of magic and named things he thought he recognised (Though almost all animals were still 'dog', 'cat' or 'Raar'). He grabbed at people's cloaks and robes as they strode past, entranced by all the bright colours and new fabrics. Harry described and named everything his son pointed to. Harry found Ethan's excitement was catching and soon his face had broken out into a smile and he was humming 'Bear necessities' as they wandered along the street.

The teen showed Ethan all the shops as they passed, describing what it sold and what the items did. When they reached Flourish and Blotts, Harry pulled out the list and walked inside.

"Best get what we came for then" He scanned the shelves until he found the correct books, he also picked up some new quills and some pots of ink. Once he'd purchased the items, he left the shop and headed towards the Owl Emporium, to pick up some treats for Hedwig. Harry pushed open the door and was hit by the sound of squawking and hooting, Ethan stared at all the birds, jabbing his finger towards the ones he liked. When he saw a large brown one with white speckled wings and silky feathers, he stuck his arms out and made grabbing motions.

"Want that!" He said enthusiastically, the owl stared at him with round yellow eyes; it tilted its head and hooted softly.

"Sorry little man, no can do, maybe when you're older" At this answer, Ethan crossed his arms and pouted, his bottom lip jutting out and his face scrunching up cutely. Harry chuckled at him.

"Sulk all you want, you're not getting the bird"

Harry paid for the treats and left the shop, he continued his journey down the Alley. A few minutes later Ethan was still sulking, completely ignoring everything Harry pointed at, the teen sighed. Not wanting to spoil Ethan's day he got an idea.

"I know what will cheer you up, do you want some ice cream?" He asked leaning down to look at his son. At the words Ice cream, Ethan instantly became excited again, clapping his hands as he chanted.

"Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream!"

"Ice Cream it is then" Harry agreed, he turned the pram and wheeled it towards Fortescue's Ice Cream parlour. He entered the shop, only slightly successful at manoeuvring the pram around people and tables, by the time he reached the counter; he'd had to say sorry many times.

"Hi, how can I help you?" asked a smiling blonde woman from behind the counter. Harry looked down at Ethan.

"Which one do you want, Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?" Harry pointed to each tub as he said them, and then waited for Ethan to make his decision. The child stared through the glass at each tub, face serious, as if he was making the most important decision of his life. To a child Ethan's age, Harry realised, it probably was. After a silence, with harry looking apologetically at the slightly impatient woman serving them, Ethan came to a decision.

"Choc choc!" He exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.

"Good choice" Harry approved "We'll have one small and one medium cone of chocolate please" The woman put two scoops of ice cream on Harry's cone and one on Ethan's, she handed them over and Harry paid, thanked her and walked out of the shop. They carried on down the street; harry pushing the pram with one hand and holding his ice cream in the other, he took licks of it in between talking to Ethan. Ethan had the cone grasped in both hands and was doing his best to eat it, in his attempt he had quickly gotten it smothered all over his face and dropped all down his clothes, the child obviously didn't mind as he had a big toothy, chocolately grin taking up his face. Deciding it was best that they finished their cones before continuing to shop; Harry found them a bench to sit on. He unclipped the buckles on Ethan's pram and lifted him out; he sat down onto the wooden bench and settled Ethan on his lap. It seemed Ethan had had enough of his ice cream and decided that spider man should have some, he was sticking the doll's head into what remained of them scoop and giggling as it came out sticky with ice cream.

"Nom nom nom" The child muttered to the doll, Harry laughed at his antics. The teen finished of his cone, wiping his slightly messy hands against his jeans. Ethan had dropped his cone onto the floor and was now chewing on the doll's head with his still growing teeth. Harry sighed, the infant was a mess the melted ice cream covering, was starting to dry and becoming sticky, he'd have to clean Ethan up before they went back into any shops otherwise he'd ruin something. Harry set Ethan down on the bench and went to the pram; he unzipped the nappy bag and searched around for his packet of baby wipes, when he found them he turned back to the bench. It was empty.

"SHIT!" Harry cursed, he turned his head for two minutes and the little minx wandered off, he couldn't have gotten far. Harry grabbed the pram and took off into the crowd, eyes low searching diligently for his son. A few minutes later and harry was panicking, he still hadn't found Ethan and by now he could be anywhere. The teen just hoped to Merlin that he hadn't found his way into Knockturn Alley. "Ethan! Ethan! Where are you? Ethan!" he called into the crowed voice filled with desperation. He was still looking when he heard an arrogant voice that he'd recognise anywhere.

"What do you think you're doing child? Get your filthy hands off me!" It said, harry could hear the sneer in his voice. He turned in the direction of the voice and started to weave his way through the crowd.

"Pretty!" A high child's voice replied. Ethan. Harry took off towards his son, pushing the pram as fast as it would go. He broke through the people and found Malfoy stood near a shop doorway staring disdainfully down at the child in front of him. Ethan was stood before the aristocrat teen, messy as before, one tiny hand holding his Spider-Man, which was covered in dried ice cream and the child's saliva, the other hand, had its stubby fingers curled in the soft fabric of Malfoy's obviously expensive, royal blue robes. The toddler was tugging at them and dirtying the fabric with his sticky fingers. Harry left the pram and rushed forward, near tears with relief. He scooped the boy up and squeezed him to his chest. The action caused Ethan to let go of the robe and drop his doll on the stone ground. He blinked in surprise, when he realised who it was he smiled.

"Daddy!" Harry gave a watery chuckled and kissed Ethan's hair.

"Thank God, Thank God you're safe!" Harry said softly in relief, rocking the boy gently against him. He pulled back slightly and looked Ethan in the eye, face serious. "Don't you _**ever **_wander away from daddy again" He scolded, voice stern. Ethan's smiled dropped at the tone and his eyes filled with tears.

"P-pretty" he explained quietly, pointing behind him at Malfoy and various other colourful things. Harry's face softened and he cuddled his son against his chest.

"I know baby, but you can't just wander off, it's dangerous, don't do it again" He replied softly, the child just pouted, eyes still glistening. Harry sighed "I'm not angry, just worried"

Draco watched the exchange with confusion and surprise. Potter had barely glanced at him, his attention completely focused on the child, who's ever it was. Did it call potter Daddy? Draco shook his head in disbelief, and then cleared his throat. Harry's head snapped up from where he had been wiping Ethan's face clean.

"Oh hello Malfoy" He greeted without enthusiasm; he continued to clean up his son, who was steadily returning to his previous excited state. The boy pointed at a woman who had her bags floating alongside her as she walked, then towards various shop windows. Harry started to chat to him again, finding his son's enthusiasm infectious, his serious state started to leave him, now that he knew the toddler was safe.

"Potter" Malfoy replied with just as little joy as the other. Harry barely stopped his chatter to nod politely at him and then he turned and walked to the pram. He strapped Ethan back in.

"What on earth is that Potter?" Malfoy asked, staring disdainfully at the obviously muggle contraption. Harry looked up at Malfoy in surprise; he thought he'd have walked off by now.

"Erm... It's a pram" He said slowly, he looked down at what he was pushing. The pram was blue, the small fold up kind, there was a pouch on the back and Harry had placed his purchases inside it, the big, colourful nappy bag hung off one of the handles, the packet of Pampers baby wipes sticking out. Harry reckoned that if the Magical World even used prams, they'd be the big, posh, Silver Cross style ones.

"A stupid muggle invention, I assume"

"Actually prams are an incredibly helpful muggle invention" Harry countered

"Tell that to the people who you crashed into"

"Whatever Malfoy" Harry said distractedly, he wondered why the blonde wizard was still talking to him and to be honest he was surprised they were actually having a sort of civil conversation; they'd usually hexed each other by now. Harry decided that looking after Ethan had given him maturity.  
Draco was also wondering why he was still talking to the Golden Boy, he had things to attend to that were more important. He put it down to curiosity.

"Just who is that child Potter?" He asked, his voice not betraying how curious he really was.

"Not that it's any of your business Malfoy, but this is my son Ethan" Harry answered, still not paying full attention to the other teen. Draco's eyes widened in shock at his answer, he stared at the child, it was cute, he thought absently. Shaking his head to dislodge the thought, he focused back on the matter at hand.

"Who on earth would sleep with you!?" He laughed, Harry scowled.

"Oh piss off Malfoy" The Gryffindor spat, he grabbed the handles of the pram and pushed it away. Malfoy watched him go, a smirk on his face before he looked down at himself and remembered.

"Oi, Potter!" He called after the dark-haired teen, Harry turned around, an annoyed look on his face.

"Yes Malfoy?" He asked in irritation, walking back towards him.

"You're dirty brat ruined some perfectly good robes, expensive ones as well" Malfoy accused, pointing to the series of stains and sticky brown handprints spread across the area that Ethan had grabbed. Harry sighed, he was about to say something like 'just stick it in the wash' but then realised Malfoy neither had a washing machine nor did his own laundry and so wouldn't understand.

"It's not like you don't have ten more just like it at home" He shot back "I'm leaving now because I have things to do, see you in school" he muttered absently. When harry returned to his son, his demeanour instantly changed back to happy and excited, as he strolled off towards the pet shop. Malfoy shook his head in amusement and slight irritation, unable to use a cleaning charm in the summer, he'd have to return home and change. As he turned towards the Leaky Cauldron, he felt something under his shoe, he looked down at it. It was that strange doll the little boy had been holding, Draco examined it; the doll was quite sticky, he noticed with disgust, it was dressed in a red and blue suit and a mask, its arms and legs moved and there was a spider symbol on its chest. Draco wondered what kind of toy it was. Draco scanned the crowd, he should probably give it back, the child seemed to like it and it wasn't as if he had any use of it anyway. Making up his mind, Draco looked at the crowd again. He could still make out the top of Potter's ridiculous hair as he headed to the pet shop. Draco sped up his pace in order to catch him and when he was close enough called out again.

"Oh Potter!"

"What!?" Harry spun around, his face displaying his impatience.

"You forgot something" Malfoy replied a smirk on his face, in his outstretched hand was the Spider-Man doll. Harry stared in shock for a few seconds and then reached out and took the doll; he leaned down and handed it to Ethan who squealed in delight.

"Um... Thanks" Harry said in surprise.

"You're welcome" Malfoy replied, the satisfied smirk still on his face, he then turned and strode away in the opposite direction. Harry stared after him, a small smile playing on his lips, how weird he thought.

"Cat!"

Harry was snapped back to reality by Ethan's demand; he reached down and stroked the toddler's soft brown hair.

"Okay, let's go see all the animals" He cooed and Ethan clapped his hands.

"Cat, Cat, Cat!" The boy repeated, Harry laughed fondly and then pushed open the door and entered the pet shop.

* * *

Around an hour later, Harry was ready to head home. He'd finished all his shopping and managed to show Ethan everything the one-year old would want to see, but it had been an eventful day and they were both tired. Ethan was already fast asleep in his pram, his head lolled to one side as he breathed softly and the Spider-man doll clutched in his arms. Harry had caught himself yawning a few times as well. He was walking towards the Leaky Cauldron, intent on getting the Knight Bus back to Linda's, when somebody called his name. Before he could even turn around fully, he was dragged into a bone-crushing hug, his face squashed against the person's chest.

"Oh Harry dear, where in Merlin's name have you been?" Mrs Weasley cried.

"Er...Mrs Weasley...Can't...Breathe" He choked out and she quickly released him, she checked him over for any injuries or problems. When the redheaded woman was satisfied that he was fine, her relieved expression quickly turned to anger.

"Harry James Potter! You will tell me where you have been right now!" She demanded "We've been worried sick since we found out that you weren't at your relatives"

"Erm...Sorry... I sort of left and went to stay with a friend" He explained sheepishly.

"And what possessed you to do that!?" She shrieked "You know how unsafe it is"

"Not really since no one bothered to tell me anything" He muttered bitterly. Though he'd had Ethan to occupy and distract him this summer, he'd still been frustrated at the lack of information he was given.

"Oh Harry love, you know it wasn't safe to send anything in a letter" She explained in an attempt reassure him, Harry just frowned.

"You could have replied to the letter I sent to you"

"The one about looking after a baby? That was a strange letter, I assumed you were babysitting or something, why was it very important?" she wondered aloud.

"Yes it was very important, and you replying would have helped a lot" Harry grumbled "Anyway I wasn't babysitting I have a son now and I needed tips on how to look after him" The teen revealed, Molly Weasley's mouth dropped in shock and for the first time she noticed the pram he was gently pushing back and forth next to him.

"W-what...B-but how!?" She spluttered in bewilderment and confusion. Harry just sighed wearily.

"It's a long story and I promise I'll explain, but it's been a long day, Ethan's tired, I'm tired and to be honest I think we both just want to go to bed" he explained.

"Is Ethan your-" Molly started to ask but Harry cut her off.

"I assume you'll want me to come stay at the burrow or wherever you are so here's the address of where I'm staying now" He pulled a piece of loose paper from his pocket and scribbled Linda's address onto it. "Come and get me tonight or tomorrow or whatever" He said

"But Harry I should really take you back now" Molly replied to what he'd told her, she looked down at the paper and read the address. Harry ignored her words and leaned in for a quick hug.

"Great to see you, tell Ron and Hermione and Snuffles I said hi" He pulled away, grabbed the pram and sped off into the crowd before Mrs Weasley could open her mouth. She looked for him but he was gone. Molly sighed in exasperation and then apparated back to Grimmauld Place, intent on sharing the news.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked it, remember to review and favourite, muchly appreciated. I hope to update soon :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for like two months, no excuses as usual. Hopefully you still love me though :D This chapter was going to be longer but I decided you'd waited long enough, so Voila and I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Ethan and the Katte family.  
**

* * *

**Chapter**** Nine**

At ten at night Harry was shaken awake by Linda, he sat up groggily and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"What?" He whined tiredly.

"There are some people here for you"

"Right I'll be down in a minute" He told her, Linda nodded and left the room. Harry stretched and stood up off the airbed; he grabbed a shirt and pulled it on then looked over at Ethan's carrier. Ethan was still sleeping soundly, as he had been for the past two hours, Harry didn't really see the need to wake him. The teen walked over to all the luggage he'd packed earlier knowing the wizards would be on their way. With Linda's organisation skills, he'd managed to get all the new toys and clothes, both his and Ethan's, into the trunk and rucksack. Ethan's pram was folded up and secured to the top of the trunk. He made up his bed, pulled on his rucksack then grabbed the handles of his trunk and started pulling it out of the room, careful not to make too much noise.

When he got onto the landing, he heard the voices of those who had come to pick him up; as he dragged he heard snippets of slightly awkward conversation between them and Linda.

"...Nice house..."

"...How does this work..."

"... How's harry?"

Rolling his eyes, the Gryffindor pushed the trunk down the stairs as carefully as he could; keeping a tight hold so it wouldn't go tumbling down. With a lot of effort he managed to successfully reach the hallway and as he did the group of wizards turned to look at him, Harry surveyed them. Standing at the front of the group was Alastor Moody, a furious scowl on his face, to be honest after last year Harry found it slightly disconcerting. Behind him was a young woman with bright pink hair, she had a grin on her face, stood next to her was a tall black man with an earring. Clustered behind them were various other witches and wizards, grinning at him enthusiastically. Bringing up the rear was Remus Lupin, looking older and more tired than the last time they'd seen each other, who stared at him in relief.

"Hey" Harry greeted, looking at each of them.

"Harry we're so glad you're safe" Said Remus, walking towards him, before he could reach him, Moody stuck his arm out to stop him. He stared at Harry suspiciously.

"How do we know it's the real him? Could be an imposter" He muttered to the ex-professor "But how do we check..."

"Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Remus asked.

"A stag" He stated in slight confusion, Remus nodded in confirmation, once again smiling.

"That's him Alastor" Moody nodded at Remus then rounded on Harry.

"Where the hell do you think you've been? Two weeks we've been looking for you boy!" He demanded moving forward in anger, Harry took a step back.

"I've been here since I left the Dursleys" The teen replied.

"Why would leave them in the first place? Especially without informing someone" Remus asked now, a disapproving frown in place of the smile. Harry was about to answer when Linda cut in.

"Now hold on a minute, Harry had a good reason to leave" She stated, staring at the two wizards scolding Harry. Both stared at the woman, seemingly haven forgotten about her.

"Who are you?" Remus asked politely.

"Hello, I'm Linda, I'm who Harry's been staying with" She answered, offering her hand, which he shook.

"And how exactly does Harry know you?"

"Oh, I'm an old friend, Known him since he was this big" She put her hand at the height of her hips. Harry sighed, cutting her off before she could go into a description of how cute he was.

"Linda, do you mind getting Ethan? He's asleep, so can you try not to wake him?"

"Sure thing honey, be back in a minute" She said, she patted him on the shoulder as she passed.

"Thanks" Most of the group, the majority of which Harry still had no idea who they were, were looking at him and the retreating Linda in confusion. Remus asked the question they were all wondering.

"Harry, who is Ethan?"

"Well, he's the reason I left my relatives first of all" The teen told him "But I can explain that later when we get to wherever we're going, because I don't want to repeat it a million times"

They all looked unhappy with this explanation, but Harry wouldn't say anything else, so they grudgingly accepted to waiting. To change the subject Remus finally introduced everyone.

"Harry, this is Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt" He pointed at each person as he introduced them "Nymphadora Tonks-"

"Don't call me that!" The woman he had just named demanded in irritation, Remus sighed and continued.

"Tonks, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones"

Harry nodded at each person as they were introduced, trying to ignore the excited stares some were giving him. "That's rather a lot of people" He said to his old teacher, the man heard the question in his statement and answered.

"A lot of people volunteered" Before they could continue the conversation, Linda descended the stairs, holding the child carrier by its handle. Ethan was slowly waking, disturbed by the sudden movement. The infant stretched his tiny arms and rubbed at his face, he yawned and blinked open his blue eyes. Harry looked at the boy in adoration, smiling at his cute actions. Ethan looked around at the figures crowding the hallway, not able to see his father, he grew distressed confused and scared by all the strangers. The child began to whimper, eyes filling with tears.

Harry rushed forward and took the carrier from Linda; he unclipped the child and scooped him up, cuddling him against his chest and making soothing noises.

"Sorry, movement must have woke him" Linda apologised while stroking the boys soft locks.

"Its fine" Harry replied, rocking his son "He's probably upset because he's still tired though"

"D-Daddy" The little boy muttered, Harry kissed his head.

"I'm right here baby, Daddy's got you" He reassured calmly. The group stared in shock, eyes wide and mouths dropped. Harry ignored them as he rocked his son back to sleep. Slowly the infant's eyes drooped and his head lolled against Harry's shoulder, tiny snores coming from him every so often. Once the boy was asleep once more, Harry turned back to the wizards. They stared speechless at the child resting comfortably in the Gryffindor's arms. Tonks was the first to break the silence.

"You've got a kid?!" She burst out, Ethan grumbled, shifting in the arms that held him. Harry frowned at her.

"Please be quiet he's sleeping and I don't really want him to wake up again" He instructed to all of them. Tonks looked sheepishly at the child who had settled once more, then back at Harry.

"How did you get a kid? You're fifteen!" She stated, in a whisper. The others nodded in agreement with her. Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Obviously I'm not his biological father, he's almost two so I would have been thirteen when he was born and I haven't been hiding a child for two years" He explained, frowning at the relief in most of the faces "I've been raising him for almost two months, he thinks of me as his dad and I think of him as my son, I love him as if he was my own"

"Harry" Remus started a worried expression on his face "You're only fifteen, how do you expect to raise a child"

"I've been doing alright so far" The teen argued defensively.

"And with You-Know-Who back it's way too dangerous"

"I'll protect him"

The werewolf sighed "Harry, this is a bad idea; you should give him to social services"

He held the child tighter and glared at the friend of his parents. "No I'm not giving him away; he's better off with me"

"Lad, don't be stupid! Give the child back to the muggles and come with us" Mad-eye growled, impatient and annoyed by the turn of events.

"Look it's not any of your businesses anyway" Harry said firmly "I'm his father, he stays with me"

The group of wizards looked at each other, displeasure clear on their faces, finally Remus spoke.

"Okay Harry, I don't know what the others will say, but we'll stay out of it" He said in defeat, Harry smiled in relief.

"Thanks professor" He said gratefully.

"I just hope you know what you're doing"

"Don't worry, I do" The man watched him for a moment and then nodded in acceptance.

"So are we going to the Burrow then?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"No, not safe enough" Remus answered "We're going to the new Headquarters, its undetectable"

"Oh, that's good, so how are we getting there?"

"Since you're not old enough to apparate, we decided to go by broom" The older man told him "You have your broom right?" He asked.

"We've been told you're an excellent flier" The man he'd been told was Kingsley praised. Harry smiled at the man.

"Yeah it's in my trunk..." Harry trailed off as a thought occurred to him "What about Ethan? Obviously he's too young to get on a broom and I don't know how I'd hold him and it's the middle of the night, he'd freeze up there" He said with a troubled look and the others stared at the child realising he was right.

"Well someone had better come up with a solution soon, we need to go" Alastor huffed. The wizards looked at each other, racking their brains but coming up with nothing. Harry looked down in worry at the infant.

"I'm not leaving him" He repeated his earlier statement and they continued thinking. To their surprise it was Linda he came up with an answer.

"You could give me the address and I'd drive him down while you fly there" She offered "I mean if there's anyone tracking you there's no reason for them to follow a random car, and you don't have to give me the actual address just the street or something and you can meet me, just an idea" The librarian shrugged, Remus looked at the group.

"Any objections? Harry?" He asked looking at the brunette. Harry looked between his son and Linda; he thought for a few moments and then slowly nodded his head.

"I guess that's okay" He consented "If you're sure he'll be safe"

"He'll be absolutely fine" Linda assured him.

"Okay, but be careful alright?" He leaned down and strapped the sleeping toddler into the carrier "This is a suitable car-seat right? He'll be safe in this?"

"Yes Harry, that's fine" She agreed, taking hold of the handle. Harry shrugged off his rucksack, unzipped it and began rooting around. He pulled out the colourful nappy bag and Ethan's little backpack. He plucked out a cassette tape from the front pocket of it, he handed the lot to Linda.

"In case he needs changing, there's a few things in his back pack, toys, some juice, a book, you know that sort of stuff" He pointed to each item as he explained their purpose, Linda rolled her eyes at him, Harry ignored her and continued. "And if he does wake up and won't settle again, stick this tape in, it usually sends him to sleep" Linda nodded, chuckling at him softly.

"Harry love, stop fretting, I know what I'm doing, he'll be fine. You'll have him back in your arms in a jiffy"

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Right, sorry Linda"

"It's fine" She laughed. Harry leaned down and kissed Ethan's head and stroked his hair.

"You be a good boy, Daddy will be back very soon, love you baby" He muttered to the still sleeping boy. Remus watched the interaction with surprise and interest; he did seem to love the child.

When Harry was stood up straight again, he pulled the woman into a hug. "Thank you so much for doing this, for letting me stay here and just generally helping me out, I don't know what I'd have done without you, you're amazing" He thanked her profusely, she blushed slightly while returning the hug.

"It was nothing dear and you're welcome here anytime, it's been great having you" Harry stepped back and retrieved his broom from his trunk and then watched as both the trunk and his rucksack were shrunk down to miniature by Tonks. The witch handed them to him and he slipped then into his pocket, he then turned back to Linda and Ethan.

"Tell Frank I said thanks, and tell Phillip and Rebecca I said bye and that they've been great, I'll even send Becky some pictures of Ethan if she wants" He instructed Linda, she nodded.

"She'd like that, Becky loves this kid, now don't forget to write and if it ever gets to dangerous at that crazy school of yours, you send Ethan here and we'll look after him until you get back, okay?" Linda told him fondly, he was about to answer when Moody cut in.

"Right you've said goodbye, we'll get the signal soon, time to go, come one Harry" He ordered, and then walked out the front door, Kingsley handed and piece of paper to Linda with an address on it.

"When you get to that street, park and flash your lights, someone will be watching and will come on collect the child" He instructed and then followed the others out of the door. Harry grabbed Linda in a swift second hug, kissed Ethan once more and then rushed to follow.

"Be careful, I love you both" He called out behind him. When he got outside, Moody scowled at him impatiently.

"'Bout time too" The man muttered. Once he was disillusioned, they mounted their brooms at the first signal and waited, at the second signal the rose into the air and began to fly to their destination in formation. With a quick glance behind him, Harry could see Linda, tiny from his height, getting into her red car. He smiled and followed the others.

When they touched down at the destination, Harry dismounted and looked around. Wherever they were it wasn't very nice. The large townhouses were grimy and uncared for and there were piles of rubbish outside a few that were giving off a foul stench. Mad-eye used a device to extinguish all the street lights and the he was hurried forward across the street to stand in front of number eleven. The one-legged man shoved a slip of paper into his hands. "Read that and memorise it" The man ordered.

_The Order of the Phoenix is located at 12 Grimmauld Place_

Harry looked up in confusion at the houses and counted the numbers: _9, 10, 11, 13, doesn't make sense?  
_ Once he'd read it, Moody grabbed the paper back and set it on fire, the blackened remains drifting to the dirty pavement below.

"But where's-" He began to ask, but was cut off by Remus.

"Think of what you just read" He said helpfully. Harry nodded and followed his instructions and very soon a whole house had popped into existence, he stared at it in bewilderment. He was then pushed up the steps as Remus tapped onto the front door. It opened into a dark hallway and he was ushered inside and instructed not to touch anything. Once everyone was inside, the door was shut firmly and they were given a bit of light, Harry inspected the area. Even with the old fashioned gas lamps, the house was still very gloomy; it smelt of damp and the dust was visible in the air and on various surfaces, the floor was wooden and worn and the wall paper was ripped and peeling with patches of mold in some places. All in all not a very nice place, Harry decided, he was glad he and Ethan would only be here for a few days, it wasn't a good place for small children. Harry walked further into the hall, looking up and down, he turned to Remus.

"So... Where are we?"

"This is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix"

"And what is-" Harry began to ask but was cut off by the bone-crushing hug he was pulled into.

"Harry! You made it fine" Exclaimed Mrs Weasley as she squeezed him. He patted her shoulder and then struggled out of her arms and got his breath back.

"It's nice to see you again Mrs Weasley, though we only saw each other a few hours ago, as you can see I'm still fine" he greeted.

"Well you just never know these days" She replied "So where's that child of yours?" The red-headed mother asked in a curious and concerned tone, she looked around him to see if she could spot the toddler, Harry sighed.

"Ethan obviously couldn't fly on a broom so Linda is driving him up" He answered and then addressed Remus "When will they get here?"

Remus looked down at his watch then back up at Harry "Not for another forty-five minutes at least, it's quite a drive" He informed the teen. Harry frowned; Ethan didn't take well to being away from him for very long and Harry didn't particularly like it either.

"And where are they being met?"

"At a park around the corner"

"Who's meeting them?"

"Kingsley is, he'll wait for a signal and then collect the child and bring him back here"

Harry nodded "Right, well he better be careful"

"Harry, Kingsley is a trained Auror, Ethan will be perfectly safe" Remus reassured the worried boy.

"Yeah, course he will" Harry agreed reluctantly "Sorry Remus, I just worry you know? Just a bit paranoid, Linda's forever telling me off about it"

"It's okay Harry; it's good to worry sometimes" The older man advised, harry smiled at him slightly.

"So, you were telling me about the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry reminded, abruptly changing the subject in an effort to take his mind off the whereabouts of his son.

"Oh, yes! The order of the Phoenix is an organisation set up in the last war by Dumbledore, their aim was to fight You-Know-Who" Remus explained, unbothered by the rapid change of subject "Now that You-Know-who has returned the group was reformed and this is our Headquarters"

Harry was about to ask more questions when he was cut off by a cry off his name  
"HARRY!" His Godfather bounded down the stairs and dragged him into a tight hug. "So good to see you"  
"Hey Sirius, great to see you too" The teen said with a bright smile as he hugged the older man just as tightly. "How have you been?"  
"Well as good as I can be stuck in this bloody place" The ex-convict replied shrugging "But it'll be better now you're here"  
Harry drew back and inspected the man. Sirius was better dressed than when he'd last seen the man, he'd put some weight on and didn't look so gaunt and ill, he'd shave and cut his hair. Despite his massively improved appearance harry could tell his godfather wasn't better. There were shadows in his eyes and his smile seemed strange, as if he didn't do it often. Harry sighed sadly and pulled the man into another hug. It upset him to see Sirius in such a state, but there wasn't much he could do other than write to him as much as possible, though Harry did feel guilty for causing him worry these past two weeks.  
"So where is this place? It seems a bit..." harry trailed off but the others understood what he was trying to say  
"this house belongs to me" Sirius announced "it was just here rotting so I decided to put it to good use, wouldn't touch anything though" he advised, harry stared at him, worry visible on his face.

"Why? What's wrong? Will Ethan be safe here?"

"As long as he doesn't wander off Harry, he should be fine" Remus answered, Harry's frown remained, knowing how much Ethan liked to do just that he was not reassured.

"I'll just have to keep him occupied then, he likes to explore" Harry thought out loud

"Erm... Who's Ethan and why is he coming here?" Sirius asked looking between Harry and Remus in confusion. Harry coughed awkwardly knowing it would be hard to explain.

"Well... Ethan's my son" he admitted

"WHAT?" The animagus shouted and Harry cringed. Sirius' approval of Ethan was the only one that really mattered to him.

"Don't freak out I'm not his real father" Harry assured and Sirius slumped in relief then his confusion returned.

"Then why...?" He trailed off with a bewildered expression obsession

"Look Sirius please don't be mad at me, I'll explain later with everyone" The Gryffindor told him "Right, I'm gonna go set up a room for us" He grabbed his bags and ran up the stairs before anybody could question him further ignoring Sirius' confused calls. When he reached the landing of the first floor he stopped and looked at the different doors. Sirius had said that he shouldn't touch a lot of things, so he wasn't sure which rooms would be safe to go into, especially for a small child to sleep in. After a few moments, Harry decided that the best way would be to just check each one.

He had checked a few rooms (All of which were filled with dusty furniture and seemed like they hadn't been entered in a very long time) when he found a room that was inhabited. He opened the door, stepped inside and before he could look around, was dragged into another set of arms.

"Harry! We didn't know you were coming today!"

"Hey Hermione it's great to see you" He replied as he squeezed her back slightly then slipped out of her hold.

"Harry, you're finally here" Ron greeted, walking to stand next to Hermione.

"Hey Ron"

"Where have you been Harry? They wouldn't tell us much but, they said you'd gone missing, we were so worried"

"Hermione calm down, I'm fine and I was completely safe" He reassured the frantic girl "I've been staying with a friend for the past two weeks because I left the Dursleys, I wasn't kidnapped or being held prisoner or anything like that"

The bushy-haired girl sagged with relief, then straightened up again as a new question came to mind.

"So why did you leave them? I know you don't get on but it's better than Voldemort"

Harry paused for a while wondering how to explain.

"Well... I have a son now" He admitted. His best friends' mouths dropped open in shock, Ron's eyes widened comically and for possibly the first time, Hermione was speechless.

For a moment at least.

"What?! Tell me you're joking?" She demanded, Harry shook his head and waited for the imminent explosion, he wasn't disappointed. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! HOW ON EARTH DO YOU HAVE A SON? WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU HAVE ONE? ARE YOU COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE? HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO LOOK AFTER HIM...?" She carried on like this until she finally ran out of steam at which point she crossed her arms and glared at harry, an expectant look on her face.

"Can I explain now?" Harry asked hesitantly, she nodded curtly at him to carry on "Thanks, right so his name's Ethan, he's about fifteen months old and I've been raising him for the past two months" Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt but harry just glared at her lightly and she closed it again, so he went on "I taught him to walk properly, I taught him his first word and then got him to carry on speaking, I've changed his nappies, rocked him to sleep, told him stories, fed him, bathed him, everything that a child needs I have been doing for the past two months. Hermione he calls me daddy and he cries when I'm not there and I really do love him as my son, I've always wanted a family and now I've got one" He finished his speech and stared at his two friends, waiting for their response. Ron was still without words but he seemed slightly impressed by his friend's actions. Hermione sighed and walked towards harry, pulling him into a hug.

"Harry we know that, but is this really the best way? You're only fifteen; can you cope with the responsibility of a child that age? And what about school? We have our O.W.L.S this year, how are you going to balance that? And we're so young and there's so much for us to still do, can you do that with a child to care for?"

"Not to mention You-Know-Who coming back, it's too dangerous mate" Ron chipped in, Harry sighed at the questions, most of them what he'd spent the majority of his time thinking about for the past few weeks.

"Look, I don't know about school, because I'll have to talk to the headmaster and Professor McGonagall, but I'm sure I'll manage and as I said I've been doing fine so far. Anything worth experiencing, I can with him. I love him and he loves me, we need each other, he's got no-one else" He justified and defended himself, desperate for them to understand. Finally, Hermione sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'm not happy about this and I still think you're being crazy, but if Ethan's happy and healthy then who am I to judge, it's your life I guess" Harry grinned triumphantly, and grabbed both teens into his arms, chuckling they slipped away. Ron nodded his head in agreement to what Hermione decided and Harry smiled wider, knowing his two best friends supported him.

"But Harry, if it ever gets too hard, or you can't look after him anymore, go to someone okay?" Ron said "You don't let people help you 'cause you think you can do it yourself but, it's not about you this time, so promise me that and I'll leave you alone alright?" Harry grinned sheepishly at the comments but agreed all the same, knowing he couldn't let Ethan suffer because of his pride.

"So how did you even come to have him?" Hermione asked, curious now her shock had left, Ron nodded eagerly at the question.

"Well, you'll never believe it, but Dudley is his biological father" He admitted.

"Bloody hell! Who would sleep with him?" Ron wondered aloud, Harry laughed then continued.

"I open the door one day when the Dursleys were out and he's just lying there in a basket on the front step with a letter..."

The other two Gryffindors listened avidly and Harry explained how he became a father.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that, sorry not much happened but i thought you deserved at least something.**** Please review, if you do you'll receive a virtual cuddle off moi :D xx  
-Caggyxx  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys, so I updated. Sorry for the wait, school and stuff. It's kind of short but I hope you like it:)  
**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing but Ethan. :(**

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**Chapter Ten**

Harry surveyed the room that they had just spent the last hour clearing out and furnishing. Every surface had been dusted and polished, the carpet had been cleaned and all the sharp or dangerous objects had been removed. The window had been finally been cracked open after a lot of force and a soft yellow glow from the street lights crept in, as the air cleared of the old musty smell. He and Hermione had basically baby proofed the entire space as Ron watched with a bewildered expression at their paranoid actions.

Once Harry had explained the entire story to them, they were quiet for a while, Ron still very shocked and Hermione thinking deeply. Harry watched them anxiously as they continued to keep quiet. Eventually Ron stood and walked over to and clapped him on the shoulder.

"You're mental mate" He chuckled "But you sound like you love him, so just do a good job and don't fuck the kid up" Harry smiled at his best friend and shoved him playfully and they fell into a companionable chatter. The exchange seemed to break Hermione out of her pondering, but instead of launching into a second rant or lecture as was expected, she simply walked over and pulled Harry into a hug.

"We're with you Harry" She spoke softly into his ear. Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her back. He'd never been more grateful to have the two of them.

Harry was putting Ethan's blanket on the cot that had been transfigured, when he heard the front door swing shut from downstairs. Then a few seconds later there was a child's cry followed swiftly by the screeching of Sirius' mother. Harry immediately shot out of the room and ran down the stairs, Ron and Hermione right behind him. The hallway was slightly chaotic, with various adults milling about unsure what to do. Near the door stood Kingsley, Ethan's backpack and nappy bag in his hands. Sirius was stood in front of his mother's portrait, attempting to shut her up with others helping him. Some were clustered in a small group staring curiously and stood in the middle of it all was Mrs Weasley, desperately trying to shush a balling Ethan.

The group quieted as he walked through them, so the only sounds were Mrs Black and Ethan. He walked over to Mrs Weasley.

"Oh Harry dear, he just won't seem to stop crying" She told him, seemingly confused. He held his arms out for the child and she reluctantly passed him over.

"How long has he been crying for?" Harry asked turning to Kingsley. He walked over to the tall man and took Ethan's things of him. Supporting Ethan against him with one hand, he shouldered the nappy bag and slipped the backpack onto the crook of his elbow freeing his other hand for Ethan once again.

"Since Mrs Katte handed him over to me, she told me to tell you that he'd slept the whole way but got a bit restless just as they were arriving. Getting out of the car woke him up and he's been upset since. I had to place a silencing charm around us"

"Did you have a nice sleep in Linda's car?" Harry asked the child, His crying paused for a moment at Harry's voice and everybody let out a sigh of relief, until it came back just as strong, Harry frowned. "Now what's got you so upset hmm?" He turned and thanked Kingsley then walked back over to Ron and Hermione, who both just stared at the infant. "Ethan this is Ron and Hermione, Daddy's friends" Hermione crouched down slightly so she was at Ethan's level.

"Hey there Ethan, my name is Hermione" She said softly. His crying died down as he stared at the girl and Harry smiled thankfully. "Can you say Hermione?" She coaxed him. The young boy tilted his head slightly and scrunched up his nose as if thinking. Harry chuckled at the expression.

"Her-Herm" He tried and the young witch smiled at his attempts.

"Your name's kind of hard for a fifteen-month baby to say Hermione" Harry said, still chuckling, to which she glared at him.

"He's almost got it" She pointed out as Ethan continued to try and say the word. Finally he gave up and decided on a much easier way of saying it.

"Mi-nee!" The young boy exclaimed proudly, a wide grin on his face. Hermione clapped as he repeated it

"Oh Harry he's adorable!" She ruffled the young child's hair

"He is quite cute" Agreed Ron, poking at his chubby arms and face. Hermione huffed and moved the child away.

"Honestly Ron, don't just poke him" The witch admonished. Harry chuckled and took Ethan back into his arms, much to Hermione's reluctance.

"Do you want to hold him Ron?" Harry offered but Ron quickly shook his head.

"Probably end up dropping him Harry" Harry snorted and turned towards the adults still watching the trio.

"Right I know you all have a lot of questions, so I'm going get Ethan settled then I'll come back down" The Order nodded their agreement and Harry smiled at them then turned and walked up the stairs, Ron and Hermione following behind him.

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Harry sat at the Kitchen table, a mug of hot tea in his hands. The rest of the household were all sat watching him, waiting for an explanation. After a long, sip he rested it back on the wooden top and launched into his story.

"About two years ago my cousin Dudley had this girlfriend, they dated for a good few weeks and then she disappeared, moved house, school, changed her phone number. She didn't say anything to anyone and no one could contact her-"

"Potter, what has this got to do with that kid?" Moody asked impatiently, Harry scowled slightly but answered.

"If you let me finish, you'll find out. So we had no idea why she'd left, Dudley soon moved on and we mostly forgot about her until two months ago, when Ethan turned up" Realisation began to dawn on most of the faces around the table as the story went on. "The Dursleys were out one day and I was in my room and someone kept ringing on the door, I went to answer it, nobody was there, then I noticed him left on the steps in a basket with a letter" Harry wore an amused smile at the slightly incredulous looks.

"That's just like…" Molly spoke mostly to herself, but Harry replied anyway.

"Exactly, so I couldn't just leave him there, so I brought him inside and read through the letter and had a good laugh"

"Why? What did the letter say?" Somebody asked, the others around the table giving looks of curiosity.

"Ethan's Biological father is Dudley-"

"Then why do you have him?" Harry huffed and answered Remus.

"There's no way Aunt Petunia would admit that her precious Dudley had knocked some girl up and I know Dudley can't handle the responsibility. If I'd left it to them there's no doubt that he would have either been chucked into foster care and forgotten about or grown up like I did, especially considering recent discoveries" Harry explained and they grimaced at the reminder of his less than pleasant childhood.

"What discoveries?" It was Kingsley who spoke up this time and Harry suddenly gained a proud look.

"Ethan's a wizard" He stated happily "He managed to unlock the cupboard door and sent his toys flying when he had a tantrum, Freaked Linda right out" The adults looked surprised and pleased with the news, Things would be less complicated than if the child was a muggle.

"Oh Harry dear, that's fantastic" Exclaimed Molly, already planning to give some of her children's old toys to the child "Now he'll grow up around magic"

"I know, it made me even surer that taking him in was the right thing to do. Even if he was Dudley's son, he would never have been accepted. But now I can give him an opportunity I never got" Harry was grinning now, pleased for his son and some of the older wizards nodded in approval.

"So you're back to school in a few days, what then?" Pointed out Remus and everyone nodded at the question, wondering the same thing. Harry scratched his head and shrugged slightly.

"Well I have to talk to Professor Dumbledore first and probably Professor McGonagall, but I'm sure I'll work something out, like take him into the fairly safe classes and then get somebody to mind him in like potions or something"

"I'm sure Molly and I could look after him sometimes Harry" Offered Mr Weasley

"Oh, we'd love to get to know the little dear" Supported Mrs Weasley, Harry sent fond smiles in their direction, unsurprised that they were the most accepting of the situation.

"I might just take you up on that"

"I'll help too, would give me something to do around here" Interjected Sirius.

"That would be great Sirius!" Harry accepted gladly and his Godfather grinned at him in return. Harry was about to continue when they were interrupted by a wailing cry. Harry sighed and stood from the table. "And that ends this meeting, thanks for listening and I hope you can all accept that Ethan's my responsibility now and how much he means to me" Smiling at those he knew and nodding at those he'd just met, Harry walked towards the door.

"DADDY!"

"Coming baby!" They heard the young wizard call as he climbed the stairs.

The adults stared at the door he just left through, then at each other.

"Well I wasn't expecting that" Tonks said, voicing everyone's thoughts.

After some more discussion various members said their goodbyes and left the safe house.

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Harry reached the room he shared with Ethan to find a flustered Hermione holding the still crying infant in her arms. She was rocking him and trying to calm him by singing, unfortunately it wasn't working. She looked at him as he entered the room and sighed in relief.

"Oh Harry thank goodness. He started crying and you were still in the meeting so I thought I'd try to get him to sleep again. I don't seem to be doing a very good job" She explained looking put out at her failure. Harry just smiled gratefully and took the child into his arms cuddling him.

"It's fine Hermione, thanks for trying" Her expression brightened at his gratitude and watched as he bounced Ethan and stroked his hair. The child continued to cry but looked less distressed now that Harry was carrying him.

"What's up with him?" She asked.

"Not sure, might just be restless, poor kid's been moved pillar to post" Harry answered kissing his cheek "I feel bad about it"

"You were just doing what's best for him" She let out a yawn as she replied.

"It's okay Hermione, go to bed"

"Are you sure? I can stay up with you if you like?" She objected but he just shook his head.

"Honestly, I can handle it, go get some sleep"

"Alright, night Harry, night night Ethan" She gave Harry a hug and Ethan a quick kiss on the cheek then left and headed to her own room.

After she left, Harry paced the room for a while to relax his son, trying to keep his cries quiet for the rest of the household. Once it had mostly died down, Harry sat on the bed and settled against headboard, Ethan snug against his chest. He alternated between singing, humming and whispering stories until they both fell to sleep like that.

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**A/N: Hope you liked it, Review and favourite. Love you all :D**

**-Caggyxx**


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